He explained that it was not until a meeting with Tord Grip and Ray Clemence immediately before the provisional squad announcement at London's Cafe Royal one week ago, that Eriksson told them Walcott would be going to Germany this summer.
Steve McClaren was preparing Middlesbrough for the UEFA Cup final, so the next England boss was only informed by telephone. Eriksson said: "There was silence at the other end of the line."
Joy Lovejoy wrote in The Sunday Times: ‘England's reserve strikers are not going to Germany just for the ride, they are going to have to play a significant part, and while there is no wish to decry a talented tyro who should have a big future in the game, the fact is that, with Walcott, future is the operative word. If we are talking about the present, with the pressure on and a goal needed to save the day, would you rather have your money on Jermain Defoe or a Premiership virgin?
One manager has seen both players up close and personal unlike the England boss. Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp said what most people in England have been saying over the past seven days since Walcott's inclusion. He said: "If you said to me he was going to go the World Cup I would have thought you were completely off your head. When it came out I just couldn't believe it. I'll be honest with you, if I was picking that England squad I would never have taken him. To pick him ahead of players like Jermain Defoe (only on standby) and Darren Bent, was a monumental gamble. It would never have entered my mind."
"If he had had five or six games and done well at Arsenal you might have given a passing thought to picking him. But come on, if he was still at Southampton he wouldn't be in the squad, would he? If he had been playing every game for Southampton in the Championship from when I left up to now he still wouldn't have got into the England squad. It's only because he went to Arsenal and because Arsene has had a word. Yet Wenger is saying he's good enough for England but he's not good enough for his club (Wenger made an arrangement with Eriksson the 17-year-old would go to Portugal this week with England and miss out on Arsenal's Champions League Final.) It's even more astonishing when you consider Arsenal had a shedload of injuries at one stage and he shuffled the team around, rested players because of too many games, and still didn't play Theo. But he did play Cesc Fabregas and he's only a youngster and he played every game. Wenger felt Theo had a hard season at Southampton and that's rubbish as well." (Sunday Mirror)
Lovejoy adds: "The concern is that a boy is being asked to shoulder a man's responsibilities, that too much is being asked of him too soon. Can a player who has been preying on Football Combination defenders really be expected to devour the world's best? Walcott is a well-meaning but not a well-considered choice.
The deal between Eriksson and Wenger only potentially serves to benefit Arsenal, even though it is supposed to be in the interests of England's World Cup hopes.
Had Arsenal started Walcott in every game since his signing, they would already owe Southampton an extra £2.4 m. (Sunday Telegraph) With this exercise Arsenal will be in a better position to judge whether or not he is ready to be unleashed on the Premiership next season, and regardless the experience of being part of a World Cup squad will inevitably enhance the youngster's confidence, but zero consideration has been given to Defoe, who if included as he should have been might have returned to Tottenham after the summer as a World Cup star.