He'll score hat-tricks ... Theo's father sees his dream come true

Don Walcott's prophecy was fulfilled in startling fashion last night as the 19-year-old Arsenal winger scored his first, second and third goals for England in just 56 minutes. The 4-1 victory in the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb now puts England on firm course to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa.

It was at the last World Cup - to which Walcott travelled with the England squad but never played - that his father, a 47-year-old RAF civilian administrator, declared his son would have a great international career ahead of him.

"Theo is a superb footballer who will win many games for England, make a huge impression on young fans and score a few hat tricks," Walcott senior said at the time, adding: "His football will speak for itself and I suppose we have to let that happen in its own time."

Two years on and Theo will wake up today to find himself branded the new "Boy Wonder" after his astonishing display. That he should have started the game in place of David Beckham - and wearing the prized number seven shirt - underlined his arrival as the new king on the block.

With his feet firmly on the ground, Theo, who was born in Stanmore, used his post-match interview to stress the importance of his family, including his father, once a top class sprinter, and mum Lynne, a midwife. He and his girlfriend Melanie Slade, who is training to be a physiotherapist, are childhood sweethearts.

"My dad was here tonight which I'm so glad about," said Walcott, who lives

in a five-bedroom house in Hertfordshire with his parents.

"He would have died if he didn't see it. There won't be anyone else at home as my mum will be in bed. My family and friends have brought me up well, look after me and help keep my feet on the ground. That's what I've always been like and I won't change at all."

England fans finally have something to cheer after Steve McClaren's disastrous reign as manager and his replacement Fabio Capello's stuttering start.

At the Tower Tavern - one of a handful of pubs in central London showing the game broadcast by Setanta - fans walked out into the night chanting "Theo, Theo, Theo." Earlier they had cheered him - "I love you" screamed one supporter - when in the 85th minute he was substituted and replaced by Beckham. Tellingly, Beckham was booed as he took to the pitch.

"He is amazing," declared Alex Gardiner, 22, a City financier and Arsenal fan. "Theo stepped up to the plate. What he has done tonight it's hard to put into words. I watched the Andorra game in this pub and we were not cutting the mustard at all. Now this."

Fellow Arsenal fan Rene Jarrett, 23, who works for Nestlé, said: "The pressure was on him but he had his chance and he took it. Once he scored his first goal the confidence came. He must be worth £50 million now."