England can rely on Walker – Parker

Walker has no senior international experience, but has caught the eye of manager Fabio Capello who is without both Glen Johnson and Chris Smalling through injury.

Walker hit the headlines at the weekend with his brilliant winner against Arsenal, although club and prospective England team-mate Scott Parker believes there is far more to the 21-year-old’s game than thunderbolt shots.

“Since I have been at Tottenham, Kyle has really stood out,” said the midfielder.

“He is a fantastic player. He is young, he has bundles of energy, and is very quick.

“He scored a very good goal at the weekend but his performance before that was really good.

“I am sure if he is called upon on Friday he will be more than ready to go.”

England can approach their task with confidence given that they have been almost perfect away from home, in contrast to their form at Wembley where they had not won for four games prior to last month’s fortunate victory over Wales.

A maximum nine points from three games, in addition to an impressive friendly win in Denmark, means the intimidating atmosphere likely to be waiting for them in Montenegro should not present too many concerns.

For Parker, there is the added incentive of finally making it to a major championships with England, almost eight years after his debut.

“It would be massive for me to qualify,” he said. “It is a great honour for me to represent my country and I probably speak for everyone in the squad when I say it would be a proud moment if we do manage to qualify.

“I have always said how many good midfield players we have.

“It is the manager’s decision and I am sure he will put a side out there he feels is best equipped to win on Friday.”

Parker should figure as Capello looks for someone to bind his defence with an attack the Italian will give licence to go forward, ignoring the fact England only require a point.

“The fact we only need a point doesn’t change our approach one bit,” he said.