SIR ALEX FERGUSON has been advocating Danny Welbeck’s international case since before the last World Cup. A series of injuries precluded an appearance by him in Fabio Capello’s squad in South Africa, but here we witnessed just why his club manager is such a fine judge of talent.
Offered his opportunity to lead the England line, the Manchester United striker answered Roy Hodgson’s invitation with a cool 35th-minute strike as he dashed on to Ashley Young’s splendidly threaded ball and chipped it unerringly over goalkeeper Simon Mignolet.
It was a goal that England desperately needed at that stage because they had otherwise exhibited little evidence of troubling Mignolet, other than two chances squandered by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on his first start for England.
His profligacy was forgotten, though, when 21-year-old Welbeck, playing his first game since being injured in the Manchester derby, opened the scoring. He was replaced early in the second half by Wayne Rooney, given a run-out in the knowledge that it will be 17 days before he plays again because of suspension. But before Welbeck departed, he demonstrated that he now possesses the physical attributes to complement his undoubted talent.
Ferguson had always said that it would take time for Welbeck to develop into a man. As recently as January, the Manchester United manager cautioned that it would still take time “before he becomes a complete adult”. But this assertive, confident performance in the 53 minutes he was on the field against Arsenal’s Thomas Vermaelen and Timmy Simons of Nuremberg will have quelled many fears on that score. It will also have reassured Hodgson that Welbeck offers a convincing back-up, at the very least, to Andy Carroll; indeed, he offers far greater versatility than the the Liverpool man.
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The introduction of Oxlade-Chamberlain on the left of midfield, in place of Stewart Downing, was a bold initiative by Hodgson and one that resonated with the same initiative that Glenn Hoddle showed with Michael Owen before the 1998 World Cup and Sven-Göran Eriksson displayed with Rooney ahead of Euro 2004.
In truth, though, the youngster appeared somewhat overawed as he betrayed his inexperience and the fact that he was included in an England team having only started 15 games in his first season for the Gunners.
It was a different story when his father made his first appearance at old Wembley. Mark Chamberlain, who won eight caps for England in the early 1980s, scored in a 9-0 defeat of Luxembourg in a European Championships qualifier in 1982 — a match in which Luther Blissett grabbed a hat-trick. His son had the chance to emulate him when James Milner cut the ball back from the right after eight minutes, but he slipped as he shot and lashed the ball wide.
Six minutes later, Welbeck chased a ball down the left and pulled it back to the “Ox”. This time the onrushing rookie international curled his shot just wide of Mignolet’s goal.
Faced by Guillaume Gillet of Anderlecht, normally a right-sided midfielder, it was a good examination of Oxlade-Chamberlain’s prowess. But while he played the ball around neatly enough, he rarely appeared likely to be destructive.
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Early on, he deftly beat Gillet but showed his frustration when thwarted by a strong challenge. He did not so much hug the touchline as flirt with it, showing his preference for a more central role.
In fairness, Belgium were somewhat sterner opposition than the principality his father faced, and doubtless he has more to deliver.