Marcus Rashford scored twice in a single game for England for the first time

MARCUS RASHFORD DEDICATED HIS BRACE IN ENGLAND’S WORLD CUP WIN OVER WEST YORK TO A FRIEND WHO DIED RECENTLY.

Marcus Rashford scored twice in a single game for England for the first time in his football career

After Phil Foden had doubled England’s advantage, Rashford hit a stunning free-kick and finished through goalkeeper Danny Ward’s legs to cap a 3-0 victory over their British opponents in Al Rayyan.

After hitting the net, the 25-year-old Manchester United forward pointed to the sky and said that he was paying tribute to his late friend.

“Unfortunately, I lost one of my pals a couple of days ago,” he remarked.

“He’s been fighting cancer for a long time, so I’m glad I was able to score for him.”

“He’s always been a great fan of mine. He was a wonderful person, and I’m grateful he came into my life. That was all.”

England has advanced to the round of 16, where they will face Senegal, and Rashford feels Gareth Southgate‘s group is capable of mounting a real push in the knockout rounds.

“I feel like the ambition in the squad is pretty good,” he added.

“We have a good mix of qualities. We have a really good squad and a squad that is definitely capable of challenging to win the tournament.

“I’m hoping that we can build on this type of performance, keep improving and keep scoring goals and showing our qualities.”

Rashford was happy with the way England bounced back from their goalless draw with the United States.

He told BBC One: “We were a little bit disappointed as a team after the last game against the USA.

“I thought we could have played a lot better and the only way to bounce back from that is to have a good performance in your next game and I think we did that.

“First half, we defended brilliantly, we didn’t really give them any opportunities.

“And it was just about us killing the game off and taking the chances when they came.”

Rashford explained his first-half free-kick: “I fancied one in the first half, but the one in the second half was in a better position.”

“From then, it’s simply a matter of being calm and attempting to accomplish what you learn in training.”

“They don’t come in very frequently, but I’m glad it did today.”

Southgate said of Rashford on BBC One, “It’s fantastic for him.” I must remark that he has had excellent training.

“He’s really impressed us since he came back in.” He had a hat-trick chance in the first half and another at the near post in the second. That’s what he’s capable of, the free-kick, it’s a tremendous strike.”