Marcus Rashford says he is “raring to go” if Gareth Southgate gives him the nod against Wales and is desperate to prove he is still the man for the “big moments” after his Euro 2020 penalty miss.
The Manchester United striker was one of England’s scapegoats after missing from the spot in the Euros final shootout against Italy. Rashford, 25, had to wait 16 months for his next England appearance and scored within a minute of coming on in the 6-2 win over Iran just over a week ago.
And with Southgate considering changes for the Group B finale against Wales on Tuesday night, Rashford could be in line for his first start of Qatar World Cup.
He said: “I’m raring to go. It’s a great feeling to pull on the England shirt again. When you’re on the bench, you want to get involved in the game as quickly as possible.
"For any player - but especially a forward - the best way to do that is by scoring a goal. The fact that the opportunity came so quickly is beautiful.”
England need only avoid a four-goal defeat at the hands of the struggling Welsh to progress to the knockout stages, where the prospect of another penalty shootout is always on the cards. And after his Wembley miss, that is a challenge that Rashford would relish.
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He said: “No, I wouldn’t have any doubts at all [about taking one]. I’ve missed a penalty before. But I feel like it’s a great opportunity for forwards, especially, to score goals.
“Obviously, they are big moments and, as an individual, I’ve always been comfortable and I enjoy being in big moments so, for me, I’m hoping that we get to take another penalty in the tournament. So I’m looking forward to it.”
Questions have been raised regarding Southgate's position ahead of the Wales game - severe criticism having been prominent following the bore draw with the USA. However, Rashford has pointed to the positivity in the England camp as a huge positive to his tenure so far.
He continued: "I was only there for a short period of time [under Southgate's predecessor, Roy Hodgson] but the standard of training wasn't as high. For players, it's black and white if you're not training well, you can't expect to play well.
"You can't expect to go into games and just win because you think you have better players than the other teams. You have to put the work in and earn the right to win football matches.
"For me, it's two different sides of a coin and it's as simple as that. There's been a clear change and a clear improvement. We've done much better in the major tournaments but even in the games that we've played throughout the year with England, we've played better and had better results. It's not often I come away with England and feel we're going to lose games.
"The togetherness is really high and it's something Gareth has put a lot of emphasis on. We work for each other and leave it out on the pitch."
