Former England striker Gary Lineker has compared Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford to Brazil forward Vinicius Jr after his fine display for the Three Lions on Tuesday night.
Rashford was given his first start at the Qatar World Cup as Gareth Southgate opted to make changes following the disappointing draw with the United States of America on Friday. After a goalless first half, the 25-year-old turned on the charm in the second 45 to help the Three Lions escape as comfortable victors.
United's forward gave England the lead with a powerful free-kick five minutes after the interval before Phil Foden made it two 60 seconds later. The best was still to come from Rashford though.
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The Wythenshawe striker used all of his trickery to beat Conor Roberts before firing a strike between the legs of Danny Ward. After the match, Lineker was full of praise for United's man.
Speaking on BBC One, he said: "Marcus Rashford, what a turnaround. He’s said himself he’s probably not performed his best, he gets distracted off the field, he’s come back this season and gradually got his way back into the Manchester United team, this is the Rashford that is a threat, he’s dangerous.
"When he plays like this yes it might not happen but he’s going past players, beating players, having attempts on goal, a little bit similar to Vinicius Jr where they recognise that they might give the ball away, but they recognise the talent and encourage it."
Agreeing with Lineker in the studio, former United defender Rio Ferdinand added: "All of this stems from one element - working hard and getting back to basics.
"Off the ball pressing, he didn’t look happy for a while. When you’ve got a smiling, hard-working, confident Marcus Rashford he’s a devastating player. Game-changer.
"And every time he’s faced up the full-back today, I heard Ash (Williams) say he looks scary. As a defender you get us in one-vs-ones, he’s got the pace to go past you, the imagination, and he can finish.
"But it all stemmed from the basics fundamentally of football which is graft and hard work. When you look at him now I think of the big players around the world and in that tournament, they’ll be looking at Marcus Rashford and thinking wow, that Marcus Rashford, he’s playing himself into the team."
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