Marcus Rashford has rediscovered his spark at Barcelona, and he will have one eye on the World Cup spot, for which he needs to start making himself undeniable for England.
That mission continued in England colours for Marcus Rashford in their game against Serbia.
England have already qualified for the World Cup, so these games are an opportunity for players to make themselves undeniable in Thomas Tuchel’s eyes.
Did Rashford manage to do that in England’s 2-0 win against Serbia? Here’s how he fared in the game and how the national press reacted to it.
How Marcus Rashford fared for England vs Serbia
Rashford for Barcelona is unstoppable, but the player is still finding his feet in the national team environment.
Tuchel clearly likes the player, and he has challenged him multiple times to break through and consistently reach the world-class levels he has shown glimpses of.
Against Serbia, Tuchel entrusted him with a starting spot, as Rashford benched Eberechi Eze to play on his preferred left wing.
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It was a frustrating night for the attacker, as he undid his own good work on multiple occasions by failing to find the final product.
He created one chance and took four shots, but came off in the 64th minute without troubling the scoresheet.
To compound his misery, Eze came on for him and handed England the victory by scoring their second in the 90th minute.
Rashford failed to win a single duel, and his minimal defensive contribution wouldn’t have gone down well with a taskmaster like Tuchel.
It prompted the English press to make a “familiar fate” point, an issue all too familiar for Man Utd fans.
National press reacts to Rashford’s performance vs Serbia
Rashford hasn’t always had the best relationship with the English press, as they constantly scrutinised his every action when he was at Old Trafford.
The change in his mood is evident after leaving the country, but he continues to face the national press when he plays for England.
The Mirror critiqued Rashford’s performance, saying that he suffered a “familiar fate” of getting into dangerous positions but being wasteful.
They went back to Tuchel’s comments of how Rashford needs to unlock another level, which he failed to do against Serbia.
The BBC were kinder, rating him 7/10, saying that he made a couple of “exciting runs”, offering a “spark” in what wasn’t “England’s best night”.
Goal rated him 6/10, echoing the BBC’s point about his trickery and pace being a threat, but his profligacy marked a frustrating outing on the day.
Daily Express rated him 6/10 as well, saying that he was a “constant threat”, but his tame efforts weren’t giving sleepless nights to the goalkeeper.
England will be in action next against Albania, which represents their final World Cup qualifier fixture. Rashford might have to make do with a place on the bench for that one against Eze’s goalscoring heroics vs Serbia.
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