England manager Gareth Southgate has hailed the “big progress” in Marcus Rashford’s goalscoring prowess and insists the Manchester United forward “loves” playing for his country.
The 25-year-old has scored eight goals in his last 17 international appearances, including three at the 2022 World Cup.
Having netted just seven goals in his first 35 caps, Rashford’s improved recent record has mirrored his new-found killer instinct at club level.
He ended the season with 30 goals in 56 appearances for United as Southgate praised his improved output.
“The obvious thing is the goals,” he replied when asked what Rashford has brought to his game.
“I think when he has had chances this season that you expect him to score as the season has gone on. Maybe in previous seasons that was a little bit less of a certainty.
“I think, in working with Erik (ten Hag), he has had to work a bit differently without the ball. There’s been a bit more onus on that as a team. I would say the goal tally is big progress for him and something he will be pleased about.
“At the moment I still think he’s better from the left than as a nine but he’s definitely made progress as a nine this year and had a bigger impact.”
Rashford came on for the final half hour of Friday’s comfortable 4-0 win in Malta as England maintained their 100 per cent start to their Euro 2024 qualification campaign.
They host North Macedonia next, the game at Old Trafford on Monday night marking the halfway point of Group C with Southgate’s side now firm favourites to advance in top spot.
It will be a chance for Rashford to add to his impressive tally in his home stadium, with Southgate’s long-standing relationship with the player having proved key.
“I’ve had him since he was in the Under-21s, really,” he added. “He kind of came back to us because he had been up with Roy (Hodgson) and then had one game back with us.
“We’ve always had good communication, I know him as well as anybody is going to know him. He’s not always easy to read.
“He does love playing for England, he’s very proud to play for England and I’m sure an England game at Old Trafford will be a special moment for him.”
On withdrawals from international duty, the England boss continued: “I think for all the players, there was a possibility with the length of season that they’ve had that we could have a lot of pull-outs but the only players that we’ve lost are Lewis (Dunk) and Jude (Bellingham) – who spent half the camp with us anyway.
“That’s a good sign. We’ve talked to the players about commitment being an important factor over the next 18 months. The more players that are here, they can hear the messages from the games that we play.
“I think Marcus is pleased that he has been able to work with our medical team and make a lot of progress in this period of time. We were always hoping this would be the case.
“In fact, Marcus did it 18 months ago leading into the Euros. There was a camp where he was just having treatment really.
“Part of being a team is the rest of your team-mates recognising you are in on this. Just by spending time with them, you get better relationship and communication to create more of a feeling of togetherness.”
While Rashford will be itching to play at Old Trafford, Southgate also insists the Manchester City quintet in his ranks could come into the side.
John Stones, Kyle Walker, Kalvin Phillips, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden were all on the bench in Malta just six days after helping City complete the treble by beating Inter Milan in the Champions League final.
“It is possible,” Southgate said when asked if they could start, with Foden the only player to be utilised in Malta.
“There are some very talented players and important players for us so it is difficult to name a team.”
St. Louis City v Portland Timbers: Carnell excited by attacking development
Bradley Carnell is taking last week's 3-3 draw with Inter Miami as a sign of St. Louis City making huge strides in attack, as they prepare to host the Portland Timbers on Saturday.
St. Louis sit 11th in the Western Conference, three points behind the improving Timbers, after playing out a thrilling draw with Lionel Messi and company.
That result ended a three-match losing run for Carnell's team, and he hopes it will represent something of a turning point in their season.
"When you score three goals and create the amount of chances we did, I saw a lot of good things against a counter-pressing Miami team with a full roster," Carnell said.
"To go away from home and score three goals, it gives me a lot of hope. We've been working hard on exploiting space in transition as that's our bread and butter.
"We're excited about the development of some of the guys, we're happy for the success they're now getting. That gives me hope for the games coming up."
The Timbers, meanwhile, have taken seven points from their last three games to move into a playoff position, drawing 2-2 with the Houston Dynamo following wins over Sporting Kansas City (2-1) and Austin FC (2-0).
Boss Phil Neville said: "We're looking forward to the game, it's always tough to go to St. Louis. They're a high-pressing team that don't give you a moment on the ball.
"The players have trained well all week, coming off the back of a really good week. We put in a massive effort.
"We're focused for tomorrow. It's going to be a good game and we're really looking forward to it."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
St. Louis City – Indiana Vassilev
Vassilev scored just his second goal of the year against Miami last time out.
Only Celio Pompeu (34) and Joao Klauss (21) have topped his 20 key passes this term among St. Louis team-mates, so he could hold the key to opening up the Timbers.
Portland Timbers – Evander
Evander assisted two of the Timbers' goals last time out, taking his total to seven assists this season, along with seven goals.
No Portland player had ever reached seven goals and seven assists in fewer than 18 appearances at the start of an MLS season before this year (Diego Valeri doing so in both 2017 and 2018).
MATCH PREDICTION – ST. LOUIS CITY WIN
St. Louis and Portland both recorded 2-1 away wins over one another last season, with both games being played before the end of April. Three of the six goals in those matches were scored in the 75th minute or later.
St. Louis' 3-3 draw with Miami last week was their 15th regular-season game with at least three goals scored, two more than any other team since they joined MLS last year.
Coming up against a leaky Portland defence, which has shipped 32 goals in just 17 matches this term, Carnell's men could get some joy.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
St. Louis City – 43.5%
Portland Timbers – 29.7%
Draw – 26.8%
Rice says England can take positives from Iceland loss, defends Mainoo display
Declan Rice insists there are positives England can take from Friday's friendly loss to Iceland, also saying the result should not affect Kobbie Mainoo's chances of partnering him in midfield.
England were booed off as they lost their final Euro 2024 warm-up fixture 1-0 at Wembley Stadium, Jon Thorsteinsson's 12th-minute strike proving decisive.
Gareth Southgate's team managed just one shot on target as Iceland sat deep and invited pressure, with Harry Kane and Ivan Toney both fluffing their lines from promising positions.
It was their fewest shots on target in any game since a goalless draw with Scotland in the group stage at Euro 2020 (also one).
The Three Lions were also criticised for a lethargic performance on that occasion, only to reach the final of that tournament.
While Rice was disappointed with Friday's result, he is sure England will learn from their mistakes in time for Group C fixtures against Serbia, Denmark and Slovenia.
"I think when we have that much of the ball and have a couple of really clear-cut chances, and obviously getting beat 1-0 at home just before a Euros isn't ideal, but I am going to take the positives from it as well," Rice told Channel 4.
"There were a lot of promising performances tonight. I felt on the pitch we played with a good tempo, always tried to play forward and be attacking and a threat.
"In the end it becomes a frustrating game because you are chasing your tail a little bit, you're likely to get caught on the counterattack and that is where we have to be a little bit more savvy.
"Going into a tournament, it is not ideal that we lost, but also there are some good learning curves from tonight that we can build on as a team."
This is the first time England have lost their final game prior to a major international tournament since Euro 1968, when they fell at the first hurdle in a four-team competition after going down to West Germany in their final warm-up fixture.
After losing 1-0 to Brazil in March, they have also failed to score in two of their last three matches at Wembley, as many blanks as they fired in their previous 31 outings at the national stadium.
Rice partnered Manchester United youngster Mainoo in the heart of midfield, and his team-mate came in for some criticism from supporters as the Three Lions were routinely caught out on the counterattack.
Rice, however, remains excited about Mainoo's potential, saying: "We did it in March, and it was really positive.
"I can imagine tonight because we lost tonight some people are saying stuff, but that's football these days. Kobbie's young, I am young, our midfield options are young.
"We are going to learn every game and that is the beauty of football, that every game you play there is a chance to improve and get better."
Southgate promises England will learn from Iceland loss
Gareth Southgate has pledged England will learn from Friday's shock 1-0 defeat to Iceland ahead of their Euro 2024 campaign starting next week.
England's Wembley Stadium send-off fell flat as they produced a disjointed performance against a stubborn Iceland side, with Jon Thorsteinsson's low strike the difference.
Despite Southgate picking a strong starting lineup featuring Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, the Three Lions managed just one shot on target and only recorded 0.89 expected goals (xG) from 13 total attempts.
It is the first time they have lost their final game prior to an international tournament since Euro 1968, having won 15 and drawn five of their previous 20 such matches.
While Southgate was in no mood to excuse England's below-par performance, he is sure their issues will be solved before they face Serbia in Gelsenkirchen in nine days' time.
"It was obviously a disjointed and disappointing performance, and we didn't show enough character but I think it's good for us before an international tournament," Southgate told Channel 4.
"I think we've got to be better without the ball. I think there were a lot of reasons for that and across the two games we probably haven't had our full side out.
"We've been able to look at people, we've been able to learn about the balance of the team.
"I've been involved in a lot of last matches leading into a tournament.
"Inevitably players have one eye on what's coming in terms of early challenges. There are no excuses on the result but there are a lot of things we can put right quickly."
England have now conceded first in each of their last three games at Wembley – against Brazil and Belgium in March and versus Iceland on Friday.
It is the first time they have conceded first in three successive matches at the national stadium since doing so between October 1953 and November 1954 – a run which included an infamous 6-3 defeat to Hungary in November 1953.
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