Prior to Tuesday’s match against Wales, Gareth Southgate made the decision to rely on some of his backup forwards to help England secure its place in the World Cup’s knockout rounds.
One of those auxiliary attackers, Marcus Rashford, was determined to seize control of the match after a lackluster first half.
Gareth Southgate decided to use a few of his backup forwards to help England qualify for the World Cup’s knockout stages before Tuesday’s game against Wales.
After a disappointing first half, one of those reserve attackers, Marcus Rashford, was desperate to take over the game.
With the help of a fantastic run that made Connor Roberts seem like Bambi on ice, Rashford scored England’s third goal in the World Cup and 100th overall. Danny Ward couldn’t handle the force of Rashford’s strike.
It came as no surprise to see Southgate smiling and embracing Rashford as the latter left the pitch with 15 minutes to go. He knew he’d seen something special here and will have already have been concocting plans to maintain that form.
That sort of quality, that energy, was what was missing from England’s draw with the United States, and Southgate now has a real decision to make.
Does he choose to start Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling and Mason Mount, as he prefers, or does he give Rashford another chance to shine in the knockout rounds?
It would be difficult to overlook Rashford, who appears to be playing with confidence and a controlled, much-needed arrogance once more, if Southgate wants goal contributions from his attackers.
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