MARCUS RASHFORD reckons England under Gareth Southgate is a million times better than the Roy Hodgson era.
The Manchester United forward, preparing for Tuesday’s Battle of Britain clash with Wales, attempted to put Friday’s 0-0 bore draw with USA into perspective with a reminder of the humiliating 2-1 loss to Iceland in Euro2016.
Surprisingly, Rashford delivered a dig at both Roy Hodgson and Gary Neville – along with some of the players.
The loss to Iceland was only Rashford’s third appearance while he is now hoping to pick up his 49th cap against Wales.
Rashford, who scored in the 6-2 win over Iran, said: “Training’s been good for the lads who haven’t been getting as many minutes. But I feel for this squad it’s never been an issue, especially since Gareth’s been managing.
“Maybe before it was a bit of an issue in terms of quality of training and people’s dedication to training.
READ MORE WORLD CUP NEWS
“I was only there for a short period of time before but the standard of training wasn’t as high as now.
“If you aren’t training well you can’t expect to play well or go into games and win just because you think you are better players.
“But since Gareth’s been manager of England, it’s been good, it’s been intense, it’s been challenging. I feel like everyone, me included, is ready to do their bit when they come on to the pitch and if they get an opportunity.
“We have shown progression in the time I have been here. Back in 2016, if you look at that performance when we got knocked out of the Euros, it is a million miles off where we are now. You cannot really compare the two situations.
Most read in Football
FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS – BEST NEW CUSTOMER OFFERS
“There’s obviously been clear change and improvement. We’ve done much better in the major tournaments.”
Incredibly, Rashford’s goal against Iran came after his first touches of the ball since the missed penalty in Euro2016.
He did not feature for England in the 16 months, mainly due to injuries but also a loss of form.
He said: “It’s obviously a great feeling to pull on the England shirt again. It’s something I have missed out on since the Euros, so the initial feeling of meeting up with the lads, training, being around them at the hotel, getting back out on the pitch. They’re all great feelings. And then the goal just capped everything off.”
Rashford also refuses to worry about the draw with the States even though the team was booed off the pitch.
He said: “It is not a nice feeling but you don’t need fans to boo us to know we’ve not played as well as we could have.
Read More on The Sun
“As players, we always want to play our best football but it’s not possible. It’s unrealistic to think you’re going to play your best every single game. We weren;t happy with the way we performed in the last game.
“It’s not often teams win all three games in the groups, so if we manage to beat Wales, which we are looking to do, it will be considered as a good start.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
