Down in a concrete tunnel at the Olympic Stadium, David Beckham and Theo Walcott were holding court 20 yards from each other. England’s past at one end, its future at the other was one interpretation of events in Catalonia but, much as we love to hail turning points, ends of eras and changings of the guard, the plot line is rarely that simple.

Walcott’s first full 90 minutes for England provided one of the undoubted pluses from a victory over Andorra that represented a tentative step on the long road back to respectability. Quick and eager, he made at least half a dozen dashes to the byline. That is half a dozen more than England fans have become used to.

“Incredible,” Fabio Capello said, and, rather than just showering praise, he seemed genuinely delighted at the 19-year-old’s contribution. But that does not mean the England manager is not thinking of dropping Arsenal’s coltish forward against Croatia on Wednesday evening.

On an occasion when Capello is likely to be guided by caution, there is a feeling that he may want a player less inclined to beat his man but, equally, less likely to lose possession in trying to skip past three defenders. On Saturday, a couple of heavy touches from Walcott reminded us that raw speed rather than trickery remains his trump card over defenders. He is an exciting talent but he is not, and never will be, Lionel Messi.

Capello had a use for Beckham in the centre in the closing stages on Saturday but was insistent that it was as a right-sided player that the former captain was in the squad.

To be omitted after a promising full debut might seem a harsh demotion for Walcott and the loss of pace and unpredictability might be bemoaned on the terraces. The teenager himself sounded eager to continue as he spoke afterwards.

“I feel great,” he said. “I’m buzzing at the moment. I’m flying. I’m looking forward to it. I just can’t wait for Wednesday. The confidence is there now. I’ve started every game this season for Arsenal bar one and I feel I’ve got so much confidence.”

Heartening words, but the chances are that Capello will regard that swelling self-belief as enough to be going on with. Confidence is important for any sportsman, but particularly for someone such as Walcott, whose well-mannered nature has sometimes made him appear a little diffident.

If there is one thing that the Arsenal coaches have been trying to instil, it is assertiveness, sharper elbows. Flashes of anger have been welcomed rather than discouraged. Famously picked for the 2006 World Cup finals squad before he had played a top-flight match, Walcott was a boy among men. Last week he did enough on the practice ground to force Capello to change his plans for his starting XI.

He was ordered to make an early impact and his first 20 minutes were his best. “The manager wanted me to get at the left back from the start, show what you can do, and then they’re scared of you throughout the whole game,” Walcott said. “That’s what I did.”

Albeit against Andorra, he has provided the latest twist in the long-running saga of what happens on the right of England’s midfield. It is likely to become a more pressing issue next spring, when the rhythms of the Major League Soccer season will mean that Beckham, 33, will have been in hibernation for the winter.

Of recent contenders, Aaron Lennon has slipped off the radar and David Bentley has done nothing to warrant promotion. Now that Walcott is establishing himself as an Arsenal regular, opportunity appears to be knocking for him.

In the short term, that is likely to be more as an impact substitute, to judge from Capello’s postmatch remarks. “He’s young, so he has to wait, because sometimes he will play well, sometimes not well,” Capello said. “But he is very interesting for the England team because he plays with pace, he’s fast, he’s very dangerous.” In this squad, that makes him unique.

England’s travelling fans made another protest during the game against Andorra, this time in anger at Setanta’s failure to reach agreement for highlights of the match to be shown on terrestrial television, chanting: “We hate Setanta” and singing “BBC”. Setanta, the pay company, which is broadcasting the matches away to Andorra and Croatia live, says that it has not received an acceptable offer to show highlights.