London: Teenage forward Theo Walcott, an unused member of England’s World Cup squad under former manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, has been passed over by new coach Steve McClaren and picked for the Under-21s.

Eriksson stunned English football by taking Walcott to the finals in Germany as the 17-year-old had yet to play a senior match for Arsenal since joining them in January.

Moving down a level, Walcott was picked on Wednesday by Under-21 coach Peter Taylor for a European championship qualifier against Moldova at Ipswich next Tuesday.

McClaren, who has said he will do things differently to Eriksson, faces his first game in charge of the seniors a day later in a friendly against European champions Greece in Manchester. (Reuters)