MARCUS RASHFORD reckons England will deliver at Euro 2020 — providing the strikers keep causing carnage up front.
The Three Lions have rarely looked so strong going forward, with Gareth Southgate’s men having blitzed the opposition in their eight Group A qualifiers with a whopping 37 goals.
England and Man Utd forward Rashford hit the third goal of the 4-0 win at KosovoCredit: EPA
Harry Kane scored 12 of them — including two hat-tricks — while Rashford grabbed his tenth England goal on his 38th senior appearance in Sunday’s 4-0 victory away to Kosovo.
Raheem Sterling completes the first-choice front three but there is still bags of competition from players such as Jadon Sancho, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Tammy Abraham.
But while England are certainly spoilt for choice in attack, the problems for Southgate are undoubtedly in central defence and midfield.
Unless those areas improve, it is difficult to see England coping with a top side next summer.
Equally, Rashford is right when he raves about the ammunition England’s forwards can lob at their rivals.
Asked about his understanding with Kane and Sterling, he said: “It’s obviously a good combination but we have played games without that particular front three.
“It is frightening what we can do as a group of attackers.
“You have to use it to your advantage and if it isn’t working in one game for that three, someone else can come in and make a difference.
“We are now just gearing up for the summer and if we go into that anywhere near the sort of form we have been in recently, then it will be a successful tournament.
“We have got a couple more games leading up to the summer and we will use them to improve as a team and just sharpen up now for the tournament.
“We want to go in there and give it our best shot at winning.”
Rashford, 22, is now preparing for his third international tournament and he is probably at his most confident after a terrific few weeks for both England and Manchester United.
As well as scoring in each of the last three England games, he has notched nine goals in 17 matches for his club this season — including six in his last seven.
Rashford said: “I had been through a tough period and now I’m getting consistent games and playing week in, week out.
Sterling and Kane have both cashed in on some generous qualification defendingCredit: Getty Images – Getty
“As a forward that has a huge importance.
“It has been a good month and a half but you take it a game at a time and just try and keep improving.
“If you are not in the team or you are in and out, you don’t quite have that confidence in front of goal.
“When you are having a run in the team it is important to come up with the goods and once you do start playing and scoring regularly, it becomes second nature.
“I feel like I’ve already experienced a lot in the game but hopefully, there are more big occasions to experience as well.”
Rashford also had words of praise for skipper Kane, who scored in all of the eight qualifiers and has now bagged 32 goals in 45 appearances for the national team.
The Old Trafford star added: “For me, Harry’s finishing is second to none.
“If you want someone to rely on and is going to get you goals, he is the man for the job.
“So for us playing in and around him it gives us a lot of confidence.
“Because if there is a game where you only get one chance, you know that if it falls to him it is more than likely going to be a goal — so it does breed confidence throughout the team.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Marcus Rashford both love a slide celebration
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
