Theo Walcott becomes England’s youngest hat-trick scorer in Croatia rout

Theo Walcott made England history in 2008 by becoming the youngest player to score a hat-trick for the national team. The 19-year-old Arsenal forward was handed a surprise start ahead of David Beckham and repaid Fabio Capello’s faith with a sensational performance. Walcott opened the scoring with a powerful finish before Croatia were reduced to 10 men when Robert Kovac was dismissed for an elbow on Joe Cole. The teenager then struck again with a near-identical goal, and Wayne Rooney added a brilliant third. Mario Mandzukic pulled one back, but there was still time for Walcott to complete his hat-trick after collecting Rooney’s pass and calmly finishing to seal a remarkable 4-1 victory.