The roar which accompanied Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s first scampering run after six minutes was instantaneous and sustained and reverberated around Wembley like a wave of optimism.
In a way that is what it was.
Optimism that in an 18-year-old with a handful of Premier League starts England have found a player with the skill and guile to provide penetration to an otherwise pedestrian midfield.
Hope that in the former Saints academy winger they have discovered a character to provide the unpredictability they will need at Euro 2012 in just over a week’s time, writes Frank Malley.
That is not meant to heap unrealistic expectation on the shoulders of a player with so much potential.
It is more a realisation that England, despite their 1-0 win against Belgium, are a team who go to Poland and Ukraine next week with no real cohesion.
Under Roy Hodgson they will be difficult to beat.
Full story in today's Daily Echo
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