Marcus Rashford has only scored one goal for England under Thomas Tuchel, with the Three Lions manager telling the Barcelona star how he can improve.
Manager Thomas Tuchel has warned Marcus Rashford will not be world-class until he performs on the biggest stage. Tuchel even claimed that Rashford is in a “dangerous” situation as he is not living up to his potential and is not able to repeat what he does in training in matches.
Rashford, 27, is on a season-long loan move from Manchester United to Barcelona and has made six appearances for England under Tuchel, scoring just one goal (a 90-minute penalty) and no assists.
Three Lions manager Tuchel insists Rashford can reach the top, but he has reportedly told him directly that he will regret it for the rest of his life if he doesn’t start contributing for England. “The quality we see in training, the finishing with both feet and the head, allows him to be one of the best in the world,” Tuchel said.
“He’s explosive, he’s got speed, he’s strong in the air. So where are the limits? There are no limits, but the numbers aren’t up to their potential. It’s as simple as that. He has to push himself to do the goal-related things: goals and assists. It’s as simple as that.”
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“He has potential, but potential is a dangerous word in high-level sport. You have to achieve personal bests on a regular basis. That’s what you want at this kind of level and that’s the challenge for him. It’s not a question of talent, it’s a question of whether he can prove himself at club and international level.”
“Still, he didn’t have as many goals or goal involvements as he could have. He created quite a lot of chances, but for the quality and finishing that we saw in training, he didn’t score enough. So that’s the next step.”
“I think he still has that mindset. He still has to make decisions. He’s still young enough to be in the moment and still be able to make the right decision and not let go, because if he doesn’t he’ll be disappointed in what could have been in 10 years and what he’s made of it.”
England can qualify for the World Cup with a win against Latvia on Tuesday night, but Tuchel said the feat of qualification should not be taken for granted. Tuchel joked that England would celebrate like Senegal after their friendly win in June.
Tuchel added: “Senegal were banging on the walls and the aluminum box. Let’s try this tomorrow! We hope that the whole challenge is to get to the World Cup and go all the way. But first of all, we can only control what is in front of us at the moment and that’s what we want to do tomorrow.”
“For me as a coach, it’s always important to us how we qualify and present ourselves, and I’m very happy with the steps we’ve taken.”
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