Danny leading the Lions’ hunt
DANNY WELBECK is a lot more laid-back than Harry Kane, who counts every goal he scores and – some might say – others that he may have not. For the record, the Arsenal striker’s late diving header against Costa Rica at Elland Road on Thursday night was his 16th England goal in 39 appearances. That means he remains the Three Lions’ top scorer heading to Russia this summer and three ahead of skipper Kane, whose 13 goals have admittedly come in just 24 games. “I was pleased to get the goal against Costa Rica but it is not something that I follow, my record,” Welbeck said. “I want to keep on improving and I am hungry to score more goals. And get time on the pitch, like tonight.
“Obviously the important thing for me was to get some more minutes ahead of the tournament, so it was good for me and good to get the win.
“It was Dele Alli’s assist. I think he shot but he is trying to say it was a cross!
“There is a lot of talent all over the squad and healthy competition for everybody. “It gives the manager a good selection headache and Marcus’s goal was incredible. He has definitely staked a claim.”
Rashford’s strike was his third goal in eight starts for his country, suggesting England could be more than just Kane when it comes to scoring this summer. Goodness knows they need to be, having been perennial under-achievers when it comes to hitting the back of the net at the showpiece tournament.
The Three Lions have scored just 79 goals in 62 World Cup finals outings, averaging just 1.27 goals per game.
To put that into context, no fewer than 26 teams have been more free-scoring in the World Cup, including such competition luminaries as Cuba, Bosnia, Senegal,
Romania, Switzerland and Croatia, to name but a few.
By contrast, Brazil and Germany rattle in more than two goals per game on average while, helped by the exploits of the Mighty Magyars in the 1950s, Hungary have the best ratio of all with 87 goals coming from their 32 appearances.
Aside from Gary Lineker’s Golden Boot-winning exploits in 1986, followed by four more in 1990, England’s goals have tended to arrive in dribs and drabs.
The only time they have been successful, in 1966, they managed to source goals from a number of players.
Geoff Hurst’s final hat-trick may live on in legend, but he managed just one other goal in the competition. The hosts’ route to the final was secured by three goals from Bobby Charlton and three more from Roger Hunt. And that was with the most prolific striker of all that year, Jimmy Greaves, injured or omitted.
England have shown mixed signs in their warm-up games of finding their scoring touch in time for Russia. On Thursday Jamie Vardy was isolated and while Raheem Sterling’s link play was good, his cutting edge against Nigeria was lacking.
Vardy and Sterling – along with Welbeck and Marcus Rashford, the scorers against Costa Rica – have to join with Kane in creating a culture of goals if England are to progress in the competition.
Rashford, though, insists the strikers are feeling much more
I think Dele’s assist was a shot but he’s trying to say it was a cross!
encouraged than in his last tournament, when England managed four goals in six turgid hours at Euro 2016.
“It’s definitely a different sort of vibe this time,” the United star said in an interview with ESPN. “You’re a bit more prepared individually but also as a team as well, a bit more relaxed. And going into the tournament we’re more clued up about what we need to do.
“It wasn’t a late call-up two years ago but everything happened quite fast. It feels normal now. It’s better for me because I’m more ready.
“We know what we can do as a team and we know how far we’ve come since the previous tournament. The identity now is completely different to what it was then, so it’s difficult to compare the two because it’s a completely new set-up.
“We’re all comfortable around each other, we understand the identity of the team and the way we want to play.”