England Under-21 manager Stuart Pearce has claimed that Theo Walcott has allowed his international career to go to waste.

The former Manchester City coach used the Arsenal forward's national team fortunes as a warning to players who turn down call-ups at youth level.

"You only have to look at the development of Theo," he told reporters.

"He went to the World Cup in 2006. Since then, he could have gone to another World Cup, one European Championships, three Under-21 European Championships, two Under-20 World Cups and an Olympic Games.

"I think he has only played five-and-a-half tournament matches in that period. We have to address that, so our brighter players, like the Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains, can get tournament experience."

England Under-21s lost their opening match at the U21 Euro 2013, going down 1-0 to their Italian counterparts.

Written by
Mark Langshaw