Praise for Welsh but England crash out

Liverpool midfielder John Welsh has been singled out for praise despite England's exit from the European under-19 Championships in Liechtenstein.

England went down 3-0 to the Czech Republic on Sunday to miss out on qualification for the semi-finals, but coach Stuart Baxter lavished praise upon his skipper despite his side's unceremonious elimination from the tournament.

He said: "If I was voting for the man-of-our-section, I'd have to pick John Welsh, I don't think that there has been a player better than him.

"Against Austria he didn't play as well as John Welsh can play, but he was still one of the most dominating players on the field. Against France he was immense and today he just wouldn't lay down," he said.

Baxter looks set to get his wish for Welsh to be involved at Premiership level, after Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier revealed in a recent interview with Liverpoolfc.tv that he aims to play the tough-tackling Welsh in 10-15 games this season.

The future looks very bright for the Childwall native, who made his Liverpool debut against Ipswich in the Worthington Cup last season. His performances at international and reserve team level have drawn comparisons with club-mate Steven Gerrard as the plaudits continue to fly in.

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