HEAD COUNTDOWN TO BOY
Southgate: Rashford’s my junior Kane... a true talent with a top temperament
GARETH SOUTHGATE says s Marcus Rashford will not t crack when the pressure e bites at the World Cup.
Three Lions boss Southgate e believes that on the big stage e mentality is as important as talent – and he reckons Rashford is like the young Harry Kane on that score. e
Southgate is sweating over Kane’s fitness after the Tottenham m striker was ruled out until late e April following a knee ligament t injury at Bournemouth last week. k.
If Kane’s recovery does not go smoothly, Rashford could be forced to lead England’s attack in Russia. .
Terrorise
But if the worst happened with h Kane, Southgate would have no o hesitation in relying on Rashford d at the World Cup – because he e continues to be impressed by the 20-year-old’s temperament, desire and attitude.
Southgate watched Rashford terrorise Liverpool’s defenders in Manchester United’s 2-1 win at Old Trafford.
And he believes the youngster has the X factor to be a gamechanger in Russia.
The England manager said: “Marcus is a player we believe in. r . I worked with him briefly in the Under-21s and we saw things that we’ve seen in the other Under-21s who have moved up to the senior team and done extremely well.
“Also, for me, the big thing about him – and several of the others that we’re talking about – is his mentality.
“Marcus is a player who believes in himself on the big stage.
“He’s committed to his job and he h respects his sport in the way he trains and in his professionalism.
“He always wants to get better in some area of his game, or physically.
“So he’s got a top mentality – which is what we saw in Harry Kane at that same age as well.
“Marcus is mentally tough. The kids that are brought up at Manchester United are brought up to have to play in front of 70,000 people, so the big games don’t tend to faze them.
“That is part of the deal with playing for England.
“And getting the players ready for that, is part of the process we have to go through.
“We have to work on being able to deal with that, but also select those that are mentally tough enough to handle it – and Marcus has shown he can. If you’re going