MARCUS RASHFORD was given another chance by Thomas Tuchel — but again failed to shine.
If you were to scribble down your starting XI for next year’s World Cup, Rashford would not be included.
And the 27-year-old’s frustrating performance in the 3-0 victory over Latvia summed up his struggles at club level over the past couple of seasons.
He created six chances according to the stats — but it did not feel like it.
The Manchester United forward, currently on loan at Aston Villa, played with bags of positivity in the first half.
He had too much pace for the Latvian right-back Roberts Savalnieks.
And he also supported his defenders on the rare occasions the visitors attacked.
Rashford was certainly acting on the criticism dished out by boss Thomas Tuchel for not being direct enough in the 2-0 win over Albania.
Equally, the killer pass was not there. And after switching to the right in the second half, he barely had a kick before being replaced by Curtis Jones.
Rashford is not the only player to fail to cause havoc in the final third during two lacklustre England performances.
But the competition down that left position is nowhere as strong as it has been in the past.
Jack Grealish’s career has gone backwards while Phil Foden has under-performed for England and moaned about being played out on the left during Euro 2024.
Anthony Gordon, injured for this game, would be your man in that spot if the World Cup started tomorrow.
Eberechi Eze also looked decent on the left when he came on and scored a deflected third.
But Rashford still has a chance — purely because his international boss seems desperate for him to succeed.
Tuchel has started him in back-to-back games, a luxury he has barely been afforded for club or country over the last 18 months, and an indication of just how far Rashford’s star has fallen.
He lasted 74 minutes before being replaced against Albania on Friday and was afforded just five more minutes than that at Wembley last night.
Tuchel has only signed a short-term contract and although he has thrown Myles Lewis-Skelly into the mix, looks determined to stick with experience.
Rashford — who won his 62nd cap — comes into that bracket.
And when the German announced his squad for these two games, Tuchel praised Rashford’s workrate for Villa — something he was often criticised for at United.
It is still early days for him under Villa boss Unai Emery. His nine appearances have included just two starts and he is yet to score.
The last time Rashford found the net was his brace in United’s 4-0 win over Everton on December 1.
When Rashford did find his way past Savalnieks in the first half last night, his final pass was not good enough.
After swapping flanks with Jarrod Bowen following the break, he played a small role in the build-up to the second goal scored by Harry Kane — but otherwise was still not involved enough.
Maybe fatigue due to his lack of games was a cause.
But you would still expect Rashford to remain in the squad for England’s next two games in June — a World Cup qualifier in Andorra and a friendly with Senegal at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground.
When you consider the rotten time Rashford has endured of late — much of it self-inflicted — he is lucky to be back in the England team.
The jury remains out on whether he can make the most of that good fortune.
Read the full article here