Theo Walcott became England’s youngest international in a 3-1 friendly victory over Hungary at Old Trafford on this day in 2006.
Introduced as a substitute for Michael Owen in the 65th minute, the forward – aged 17 years and 75 days – beat Wayne Rooney’s previous record of 17 years and 111 days.
Walcott had yet to even make his league debut for Arsenal, having joined the Gunners from Southampton.
![Walcott (left) comes on for Michael Owen to make his international debut](https://www.irishnews.com/resizer/v2/2ISF2I2Y7VNQ5LT3RP4CANTP3A.jpg?auth=73f7e8407f370f0a55b7fedad4ba694c1b29b5a15a5760d3a343bb0dda08c163&width=800&height=574)
In their penultimate warm-up game ahead of the 2006 World Cup, England saw a penalty from Frank Lampard saved just before half-time.
Steven Gerrard and John Terry headed in from David Beckham free-kicks as England scored twice in three minutes early in the second half.
Hungary skipper Pal Dardai pulled one back from long range, before Peter Crouch added a late third for Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side.
Walcott was a shock selection by Eriksson for the 2006 World Cup squad but did not play in Germany, where England were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Portugal.
![Walcott went on to become the youngest England player to score a hat-trick in the win over Croatia](https://www.irishnews.com/resizer/v2/LORFQMSULBKTBF5RYAEBOCSY6Q.jpg?auth=913b64faf72faa77578de6e7b611df2effdc839eab51c4096bf48705a5e38380&width=800&height=543)
In September 2008, Walcott became the youngest England player to score a hat-trick in a 4-1 win over Croatia in Zagreb – but was a surprise omission from Fabio Capello’s squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
A serious knee injury saw Walcott ruled out of contention for the 2014 World Cup and his last England appearance came in a friendly against Spain in November 2016.
Walcott left Arsenal to join Everton in January 2018, before returning to the Saints, initially on loan ahead of a permanent move.
After two years with Southampton, he announced his retirement from football in August 2023.