Marcus Rashford’s WC brace in the victory over Wales that gave England a group win. The Manchester United attacker grabbed his chance with the national team with both hands.
The 25-year-old attacker had to settle for a substitute in the first two group matches of the English. Rashford scored as a substitute against Iran and then came on in the closing stages against the United States. Against Wales (0-3), national coach Gareth Southgate gave chances to Rashford and Phil Foden and kept Raheem Sterling and Bukayo Saka aside.
Rashford opened the scoring against Wales with a beautiful free kick. A goal he dedicated to a friend he recently lost. “A friend of mine died a few days ago,” the winger said during the press conference afterwards. “He had a pretty long battle with cancer. I’m glad I was able to score for him. He was a good friend and a big fan.”
In the 75 minutes Rashford played against Wales it was clear he wanted to prove something. He posed a lot of danger. No one came to more goal attempts and no one had more successful dribbles. The highlights were of course his two goals.
Due to Rashford’s strong performance, Southgate faced difficult choices on the way to the round of 16 against Senegal. The luxury problem of the national coach was underlined on Tuesday evening, in addition to Rashford, Phil Foden also impressed with his first basic appearance during this tournament. In the first two group matches, Saka and Sterling were still preferred on the flanks.
Rashford is not the only United player to stand out in this World Cup. Teammates Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro were also named Man of the Match earlier this week. The Three Lions will face Senegal in the round of 16 on Sunday at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium.
