England winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain watched the last World Cup in a pub with his friends, but just two years later he is set to cap his meteoric rise by stealing the spotlight at Euro 2012.
The 18-year-old underlined his credentials as one of the brightest young stars in English football with a lively first international start in Saturday’s 1-0 friendly win over Belgium at Wembley.
The Arsenal teenager showed enough glimpses of his blistering pace and clever footwork to give England manager Roy Hodgson a tough decision over who starts on the left flank in his side’s Euro opener against France on June 11.
Even if Oxlade-Chamberlain initially starts on the bench, he has the qualities to be the ideal game-changer when defenders start to tire.
For Oxlade-Chamberlain, it is a mind-blowing thought that he is even in the conversation as a potential England starter.
Back in 2010, he watched his country’s World Cup campaign from a Southsea pub with hopes of one day playing for England occasionally drifting into his head.
Those dreams have come true much quicker than Oxlade-Chamberlain could ever have expected and he can’t wait to get his first taste of the kind of tournament he has only...
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