Walcott stunned by England callup

London: Theo Walcott had just finished his driving test when he got the word: Sven-Goran Eriksson had picked him for England's World Cup squad.

"I turned (my phone) back on, phoned my dad and he told me the news and could not believe it was true," the 17-year-old Arsenal striker said on Tuesday.

"He said to me, 'You're in the England squad' and I thought he was having me on."

"I was shocked and surprised as everyone was. My first thoughts were that I can't believe this, really. The move to Arsenal and then this, it is just unbelievable," Walcott told Sky Sports News. "My eyes were coming out of my head."

The rest of the nation also was taken aback by Eriksson's decision on Monday to gamble on a player who has not yet played in a Premier League game but is now going to the biggest event in soccer.

Walcott joined the Gunners from League Championship club Southampton during the January transfer window.

Although he has been on the substitutes' bench several times, he has not kicked a ball in first-team games.

Eriksson hasn't even seen Walcott play, apart from in training sessions or on video.

But the Swede decided to gamble because his top striker, Wayne Rooney, broke a bone in his right foot and is certain to miss the first three group games of the World Cup - if not the entire June 9-July 9 championship.

Eriksson is gambling on Rooney, too, by naming the Manchester United as one of his four strikers.

Along with Walcott, the others are Peter Crouch, who is fully fit, and Michael Owen, who is recovering from a broken foot and has played just 30 minutes so far in 2006.

Walcott will miss Arsenal's Champions League final against Barcelona at the Stade de France next Wednesday because he will be with the England squad for training in Portugal.

Despite his inexperience, Walcott was chosen ahead of Tottenham's Jermain Defoe and Charlton's Darren Bent, who have been in Eriksson's recent squads and were expected to go to the World Cup.

Walcott didn't want to comment on their absence, however.

"You'll have to ask Sven for that really," he said. "Don't ask me about that."

Walcott said he had improved by training at Arsenal alongside the likes of Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp, and looked forward to doing the same with the England stars.

"I will be training with world-class players who will get to know me a bit better and hopefully make a name for myself," he said. "I've worked hard all the way from Southampton all the way to Arsenal, so I deserve it really."