Former England defender Matthew Upson has claimed that Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford showed how dangerous he can be for the Three Lions after his second-half goal against Iran.
Gareth Southgate's side had a near-perfect start to their World Cup campaign during their 6-2 win over Iran on Monday. Although England would have been frustrated to concede the two goals in the manner that they did, it was a thoroughly impressive performance overall.
Rashford was named on the bench by Southgate, but the United man took his chance with aplomb when he came on in the second-half. The 25-year-old scored with just his third touch, as he calmly slotted home for his country.
ALSO READ: Manchester United face a dilemma with one of their possible Cristiano Ronaldo replacements
Upson has now identified the vital difference that Rashford can make during this World Cup campaign, as he heaped praise on the forward for his cameo against Iran.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live's World Cup Daily: "Rashford showed that he has still got that pace. We talked about how athletic England look, but when he came on the pitch in that wide area, he’s a massive threat if he’s direct and in that mindset which he was. To come on and score just tops off what is a very good evening for England.
"The one thing I wanted to see was a team that was hungry and really at it, wanting to win this tournament. We haven’t seen that of late. It’s been a bit dejected and tired.
"You can’t underestimate how hard it is to come back from the disappointment of the Euros and it’s almost like it is just wiped clean for this tournament now."
READ NEXT:
