Marcus Rashford in action for England

United trio buzzing after World Cup bows

Tuesday 19 June 2018 17:44

Harry Kane may have dominated the headlines after scoring both of his team's goals, but the performance of Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford also earned praise following England's opening victory at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

The Reds striker was introduced as a second-half substitute in Monday’s win against Tunisia and in doing so made his World Cup debut.

Rashford’s pace and directness caused havoc for the Tunisian backline, and he noticeably raised England’s tempo during a period of the game when it seemed the Three Lions were beginning to tire.

His trickery and jinking runs were key to England’s recovery and many are now backing him to start in the upcoming game against Panama on Sunday.

Gareth Southgate is well aware of Rashford’s ability to find the net, something he did in the final pre-tournament warm-up game against Costa Rica, and his potential introduction to the starting XI could give England an added goal threat.

The Reds no.19 wasn’t the only United star playing his first World Cup game on Monday, with Jesse Lingard and Ashley Young starting in Volograd.

Lingard was one of England’s main attacking threats and was unlucky not to open his scoring account at the tournament.

He forced Mouez Hassen into making a great save with his feet early in the game and even hit the post in the dying embers of the first half.

The midfielder linked well with Harry Kane and, as well as being involved in a number of chances, his incisive runs created space for England’s other attacking players.

In searching for a winner Gareth Southgate made a few attacking changes, but it was telling that the United man was only withdrawn after Kane’s late goal.
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‘LINGARD WAS ENGLAND’S BEST PLAYER’

ManUtd.com’s James Tuck enjoyed watching Jesse Lingard’s World Cup bow…

“Reading some of the comments from fans on Twitter last night, you’d think Jesse Lingard had performed badly. I actually think he was England’s best player – Harry Kane may have grabbed the headlines but Lingard made them tick. Sure, he was guilty of missing a couple of very presentable chances but he was in the positions to score them in the first place. In my view, he was England’s most dangerous attacking threat, ghosting into spaces in the final third in trademark fashion, and ran his socks off before understandably tiring somewhat in the Volgograd humidity. As a general rule, international football doesn’t hugely excite me but watching our Academy graduate fulfil a childhood dream with a nerveless display in his first appearance at a World Cup filled me with pride. It augurs well both for England and United.”
Ashley Young also performed well for the Three Lions and his 11th-minute corner ultimately led to England’s first goal, scored by Kane after John Stones's initial header from the set piece was saved.

His whipped crosses were a constant threat for Tunisia and he would have claimed an assist had Lingard buried a far-post volley late in the first half.
Young provided a seamless transition between attack and defence for England and it’s a credit to the defender that at 32, he can still perform on the world’s biggest stage. The Manchester United trio will be hoping to continue their good form into the Panama game before their showdown against team-mates Romelu Lukaku and Marouane Fellaini on 28 July.