Marcus Rashford started for England in their first friendly against Uruguay and although he didn’t score much in a close game, the Barcelona loanee looks to be in good form ahead of the World Cup.
Marcus Rashford beats Thomas Tuchel (Image: Vince Mignott/Getty Images)
Marcus Rashford could be one of the big winners of England’s March camp. There was a big change in Thomas Tuchel’s mood after Rashford’s performance against Uruguay, which may have gone some way to inserting him into the starting XI for the World Cup.
Back in October, Tuchel clearly had a strong message for Rashford, who had doubts about his ability to develop into a world-class talent. “Potential is a dangerous word in high-level sport, because you have to achieve personal bests on a regular basis. That’s what’s required at this kind of level and that’s the challenge for him. It’s not a question of talent,” Tuchel said.
This came ahead of England’s win in Latvia, and interestingly, Anthony Gordon started and scored in a 5-0 win, while Rashford only came on as a substitute. Rashford started against Uruguay on Friday, but it was clear he had a point to prove before the ‘A-lister’ joined up with the main squad for Tuesday’s second friendly against Japan.
It’s anyone’s guess how Rashford, 28, can be counted as ‘second team’, as he is on loan at Barcelona from Manchester United, the world’s second-biggest club. Rashford played 39 games for Barcelona, starting only 21, and scored 10 goals and provided 10 assists.
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But while Tuchel wanted to show some tough love five months ago, this time the England manager delivered a more positive message. “He works hard. He works hard. He hasn’t started a game for a long time, so I gave this to him because I spoke to him. I was very impressed with yesterday’s training. It was a defensive training and with Jed Spence on the side he was very strong. He worked very hard,” Tuchel said.
“Understands how to start pressing for us. He worked hard and I think he worked very hard. He probably can’t score the goals he needs with confidence. I was happy with the way he tried and it was a constant threat.”
Rashford’s last goal for England came against Serbia last September, but his last start came on March 7, so Tuchel will likely be harsh about his game time at Barcelona. But Rashford is now back in Tuchel’s form, with Dom Solanke also drawing plaudits and James Garner’s versatility, able to play as both right-back and midfield, could earn him some belated praise.
Thomas Tuchel likes the work rate of left winger Marcus Rashford (Image: Nigel French/Getty Images)
Everton manager David Moyes has understandably backed Garner, with Tuchel taking a special interest in the player. England’s players went into the match against Uruguay believing it was an audition and a personal match. I felt that what I could do as an individual was more important than the team’s performance or results.
Tuchel says he got what he wanted from the match against Uruguay and the progress he made in training. The players had to move on before Japan’s big players rejoined. “I would say I was looking forward to that game. We had some good training sessions and the group was an active group, so I was looking forward to it. We said to the group today, do we expect everything to be perfect? Yeah, maybe it is, because we always do.”
James Garner’s versatility gives him a chance to be in the World Cup squad (Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Let us know what you think. Who impressed against Uruguay and should be included in England’s squad this summer? Comment below.
“But we’re smart enough to understand. We’re playing for the first time so we might be nervous. And we have a lot of information to take in in the last few days. So it’s probably going to take time and our opponents know what they’re doing. They’re playing in their best formation.
“So, just keep going and stay positive. And they did. I really liked this group. I was excited to coach them. I was so happy when we did it. It looked like we won. But it was good. And now, of course, we’re all in the locker room. It was good to have everyone back. We need to make sure they’re ready now.”
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