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Manchester United’s 1-0 win over West Ham on Sunday was the eighth consecutive match in which the Red Devils have not suffered a defeat. Since the 6-3 drubbing at the hands of Manchester City, United have been a team reborn and they have suddenly found their feet under Erik ten Hag. One of the players instrumental behind this revival has been Marcus Rashford and the 25-year-old is now growing into a strong contender for Gareth Southgate’s England squad to the World Cup 2022.
Rashford’s Transformation in Recent Weeks
Marcus Rashford had a very disappointing 2021-22 season with only five goals in 32 matches in all competitions. Four of these goals came in the 25 Premier League appearances. Now, Rashford has already hit four league goals for the campaign and he has only taken 12 games to get to the tally.
Of course, this is not the only time when Rashford has been brilliant in front of goal. During the 2019-20 season, the forward was able to hit 17 goals in just 31 league outings. This is in addition to goals in Europe and domestic cup competitions. This time around, it has been a remarkable turnaround story for Rashford and United which is contributing heavily to a potential call-up for the player for the upcoming World Cup 2022.
It was not long ago that Rashford appeared to be completely out of sync in front of goal. The striker received a lot of abuse for his disappointing penalty miss in the Euro 2020 final. Even in the early days of United’s campaign this season, Rashford was completely out of sorts and he came up with very poor performances in the losses against Brighton and Brentford in August. Now, Rashford has scored in back-to-back games against Sheriff and West Ham.
Potential Offensive Options for England at the World Cup
England manager Gareth Southgate has plenty of good options in the offensive area of the pitch. Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka are likely to be the key players on the flanks for England. They are expected to go in support of Harry Kane ahead of the names like Raheem Sterling or Jarrod Bowen.
There is no doubt that Sterling faces a difficult task to force his way into the squad after having gone through a very poor run of form for the last few months. Sterling has not been able to get a league goal since August and he has experienced such a dip in form even during the last few years at Manchester City. Even though Sterling had a decent 2021 with England after scoring five goals in 14 appearances, Rashford’s recent form has seen him take a significant leap ahead of the 27-year-old.
Rashford has a major advantage over players like Saka and Bowen due to his experience at previous tournaments. The forward has been part of the England line-up in the recent three major tournaments. Meanwhile, Saka has been in the England setup only for the last two years while Bowen made his senior debut only in June. The lack of experience could count against the West Ham winger.
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