Harry Maguire has revealed he spoke to Marcus Rashford to encourage him to rediscover his belief during his time out of the England senior team.
Rashford spent 16 months out of Gareth Southgate's plans but was called back into the squad for this year's World Cup. The Manchester United forward started against Wales on Tuesday, scoring two goals to put the Three Lions into the last 16.
It marked a triumphant return to the fold for the attacker, who struggled with injuries and a loss of form since Euro 2020. And Maguire has opened up on his pride at seeing Rashford bounce back from those tough times to become a key member for Southgate's side.
"I speak to him a lot and I try to give him as much belief as I can. But listen, Marcus is a fantastic player who has had a great career up until now. I think this last year has been difficult for him, but all good players rise to the top again," Maguire said, per the Daily Star.
"I am close to Marcus, a good mate of his on and off the field, the main thing was trying to get the belief back in his game. Marcus is a fantastic talent and you see it day in day out when you train with him.
"It was only a matter of time until he got his confidence and form back. A career is a long time, over 15 years, there will be a lot of ups and downs. You've got to bounce back if you want to be successful and he's done that."
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Following his brace against Wales, Rashford appears well-placed to challenge for the Golden Boot. And Maguire believes his United team-mate thoroughly deserves the upward turn in his fortunes.
"I am really pleased for Marcus. For the last year or so he has been in and out of the England team and set up. Throughout a long career, you will always have ups and downs," Maguire added.
"It is all about how you bounce back when you are out of form. He has kept working hard and done that tirelessly. I can't speak highly enough of Marcus. He is a wonderful man and a great player.
"And he's showed he belongs on this stage. He showed he belongs on this stage. When he gets that opportunity with the confidence that he has, he is a threat to anyone."
Rashford's first goal came from a stunning free kick five minutes after half-time before he rounded off the scoring by firing in with just over 20 minutes to go. And the United star has insisted that the Three Lions can up their performance levels.
"Moments like this, this is what you play football for, the biggest moments, the best moments. I am really happy today. I am really happy that we are going through to the next round of the tournament and hopefully we can build on this performance," he said.
"I have massive ambition with this team and I think we can play even better than what we have shown tonight. We were a little bit disappointed as a team against the USA. I thought we could have played a bit better.
"The only way to bounce back from that was to have a good performance in your next game. I thought we did that. We only had two or three in the first half. We wanted to have more, we wanted to work the keeper and keep getting in dangerous positions."
