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Jamie Redknapp believes confidence is the key to Marcus Rashford’s England heroics at the 2022 World Cup.
The forward scored a double in the Three Lions’ 3-0 win over Wales on Tuesday evening. One strike came from a free-kick, with the other arriving inside the box after the attacker superbly dribbled through the Wales defence.
Rashford was largely forced to watch on from the bench in England’s matches against Iran and the USA. He was given 20 minutes in the first game, and just 12 minutes in the second.
But manager Gareth Southgate decided to start the Manchester United man against Wales. And he repaid the faith with a fine double to help secure top spot in the group for his country.
Confidence key to Rashford form
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Rashford had been away from the England setup for some time amid a decline in form. But he has since recovered for both club and country in recent times.
And ex-England international Redknapp says Rashford’s high confidence levels have helped him get back to his best.
“We often talk about confidence and it seems so simplistic,” said Redknapp, as reported by the Daily Mail.
“People want a bigger answer, whether it’s a tactical change, maybe he’s playing him off the right… it’s not. He’s feeling a million dollars.
“Every time the ball came to him after he scored you could see he wanted to show off, he wanted to do a trick, he was chasing everywhere.
“That’s the fine line in football between being confident, wanting the ball in every single area of the pitch, and not confident and almost marking yourself, hiding from the ball that we saw last year from Marcus Rashford.”
England forward to clinch Golden Boot?
England forward Rashford is now one of four players with three goals at the 2022 World Cup. He is joined by France’s Kylian Mbappe, Ecuador’s Enner Valencia, and Cody Gakpo of the Netherlands.
And Redknapp believes the England attacker is in a great position to challenge such players for the 2022 World Cup Golden Boot, regardless of whether he starts or not.
“It can only be good news for England because he looks the player that’s bang in form,” said Redknapp.
“Whether he starts, whether he comes on, he’ll feel so good about himself. Three goals now, he’s looking at the Golden Boot.”
Rashford to get starting role for England?
There has been much debate about what Rashford’s best position on the pitch is, with the forward starting on the left against Wales, before a switch to the right later on in the game.
He is also capable of playing through the middle, and could provide Southgate with a huge selection headache for the upcoming match with Senegal.
England have been drawn to face the African side in the Round of 16 on Sunday. The Three Lions topped Group B, with Senegal coming second in Group A.
The Three Lions boss previously went with the likes of Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling in forward positions against Iran and the USA.
But the attackers made way for Rashford and Phil Foden on Tuesday, with both Manchester-based forwards getting on the scoresheet in the 3-0 win.
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