Walker thankful for opportunity

Tottenham right-back Kyle Walker hailed a "whirlwind" two years after being named man of the match on his full England debut against Sweden on Tuesday night.

Walker was playing in the npower Championship and for England Under-19s this time two years ago but the past few days have capped a meteoric rise for the 21-year-old. After coming off the bench to earn his first cap in England's shock victory over Spain on Saturday, Walker took full advantage of his first start in the 1-0 win over Sweden at Wembley.

"It's been a whirlwind of a two years for me," Walker said. "I was in the under-19 squad two years ago. I'm thankful for the opportunity I got tonight and, hopefully, I can keep going."

He added: "It's an honour, really to get out on the pitch and finally show what I can do.

"I'm grateful and I owe a lot to my mum and dad for this."

Walker appeared to form an instant understanding with winger Theo Walcott, who he compared to Spurs team-mate Aaron Lennon.

"I play with Azza at club level - he's a great player - and Theo's just like Azza," he said. "Hopefully, we built up and understanding and we crack on from there."

Walker, who was himself compared to Roberto Carlos during this summer's European Under-21 Championships in Denmark, admitted it had been "a massive step up" to senior international level.

"You have to always concentrate. There are more experienced players. There are more dangerous players," he said.

"But the under-21s is a fantastic level as well and you have to have that experience coming up through there to get into the seniors. Thankfully, the gaffer Stuart Pearce gave me the opportunity to play there in the summer and I think I learnt a lot from that as well."