WALCOTT WOWS IN PORTUGAL LAST NIGHT

Stuart Pearce was proud of his players after seeing them come from a goal behind on Tuesday night to take a well-earned point in Portugal.

Within three minutes, their 100% record this qualifying campaign was in jeopardy as Vieirinha converted a penalty. But the England then went on to dominate large parts of the game, found themselves level through Adam Johnson's strike early in the second half and were unlucky not to go home with all three points.

Theo Walcott fired wide before Adam Johnson restored parity, volleying home from Joe Mattock's long throw.

The game ended withTheo Walcott earning the praise of opposition supporters - after an impressive display for England Under-21s in Portugal. Chants of 'Theo, Theo' were heard among the home fans.

The draw leaves England six points clear of Portugal at the top of Group Three, with Pearce's side having two games remaining and Portugal three.

"I can name 14 players who were unavailable, six of whom were forwards," said Pearce

"Theo's worked tirelessly up front on his own. We had a 17-year-old left back, Joe Mattock, come in and perform well, Adam Johnson and Lee Cattermole also getting their first starts this week, so I couldn't be more proud of them, I'm just disappointed they didn't win the game.

"We probably started a little bit nervous and we gave ourselves an uphill battle giving the penalty away so early.

"The more the game went on we grew more confident, looked more galvanised and were more comfortable.

'"We played extremely well on the counter-attack. Theo's pace and power was a problem for them, there was a couple of times when he was fouled but he stayed on his feet and went past two or three players, he was a handful all night."

Even though England dropped their first points in qualifying, Pearce was pleased to get a draw against tough opponents to keep them six points clear in the table and maintain their unbeaten start.

He added: "Suffice to say, the campaign so far couldn't have gone any better as far as I'm concerned.

"We've conceded one goal in the six games we've played. We've also used various members of the squad and everyone who has come in has played a big part. So I could'nt be happier."

Portugal
1 Ricardo Batista, 3 Nuno André Coelho, 5 Antunes, 15 Gonçalo Brandão, 13 Vasco Fernandes, 6 Paulo Machado, 8 Pelé (18 Celestino, 66), 10 João Moutinho (c), 7 Vieirinha (14 Bruno Pereirinha, 77), 9 João Moreira (20 Tiago Targino, 46), 19 Carlos Saleiro
Subs not used 12 Rui Patrício, 2 Stelvio Cruz, 4 Bruno Pinheiro, 11 Hélder Barbosa
Coach Rui Cacador

Bookings None

England
1 Joe Hart, 2 Craig Gardner, 3 Joe Mattock, 4 Lee Cattermole, 5 Steven Taylor (c) (14 Michael Mancienne, 46), 6 David Wheater, 7 James Milner, 8 Tom Huddlestone, 9 Adam Johnson, 10 Fabrice Muamba, 11 Theo Walcott
Subs not used 12 Matt Connolly, 13 Ben Alnwick, 15 Grant Leadbitter, 16 Andrew Surman, 17 Richard Stearman, 18 Ishmael Miller
Coach Stuart Pearce

Bookings S Taylor 13; Muamba 37, Walcott 81