ENGLAND v COSTA RICA REPORT
Marcus belter can lift him to a starting slot
ENGLAND...2 COSTA RICA...0 JOHN CROSS AT ELLAND ROAD
MARCUS RASHFORD last night gave England gaffer Gareth Southgate a selection headache with a stunner that left Costa Rica seeing stars.
Five days ago Southgate’s starting line-up for their World Cup opener against Tunisia looked stitched on.
And yet it was Manchester United forward Rashford – one of 10 changes to the team that beat Nigeria on Saturday – who handed him the biggest dilemma as Danny Welbeck also found the target with Russia looming.
His pace and energy in front of a sell-out crowd of 36,104 at Elland Road was capped by a 30-yard wonder goal.
The 20-year-old said: “You work on them in training pretty much every day so when one comes up in a game it’s the reward you get for practice.
“I’m happy with the game and the result because we’re in good physical form leading up to the tournament which is the most important thing.
“But I still need to get in the box a little bit more to try to finish off some chances from crossing areas. There’s always something to learn from each game. It means a lot to just be selected but going there and playing a major part is my aim.
“If everyone goes with that mentality and performs to the best of their ability then we know we’ve got a good chance.
“Anything’s possible so we have to go there with the highest expectations.
“The friendlies have just been showcasing ourselves to the fans how far we’ve come on.”
Some of the Yorkshire crowd reminded Rashford of his United roots before kick-off but his sensational first-half display left little option but to cheer.
He wasn’t the only one to impress. Trent AlexanderArnold enjoyed a memorable debut at right-wing back, Danny Rose did well on the other flank and Jordan Henderson put in an all-action display to make Eric Dier worry about his place.
Costa Rica’s star man Keylor Navas tipped Phil Jones’s header over eight minutes in but could only watch in wonderment five minutes later as Rashford’s dipping shot flew in.
Henderson had a thumping effort denied by Navas before Bryan Oviedo hacked off the line as Harry Maguire met the resulting corner with a header.
Southgate rang the changes as the second half wore on with Burnley’s Nick Pope replacing Jack Butland in goal to become the 18th player to make his debut under him in little over 18 months. And two of his subs combined for No.2 in 76 minutes when Welbeck threw himself at Dele Alli’s cross for a diving header in off the woodwork.
Southgate said: “What pleased me most is Marcus enjoyed his football – he played with a real swagger.
“He’s a Manchester United player and he got booed at the start and cheered off at the end.
“We’ve got great competition for places. His linking was good and his individuality was great.
“Marcus had that exuberance. He was teasing defenders and it was great to see.”
On whether it made picking his team for Tunisia harder he added: “If it has complicated it then it’s in a really good way.
“I’ll sleep on it. I’m really pleased with the preparation we’ve had in the last few weeks.”