Gareth Southgate was very happy with how Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden played in England’s 3-0 win over Wales in their last World Cup group game.
Rashford and Foden both scored in the second half, and Rashford’s two goals put him at the top of the scoring charts for the tournament. They were important parts of the Three Lions’ strong offensive play at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium.
All the talk before the game was about Southgate not putting Foden on against USMNT, and when he got the chance to start against Wales, the attacking midfielder showed what he could do.
The England manager talked to BBC Sport about the two players and the game itself. Gareth Southgate said, “We controlled the game in the first half, but we didn’t make enough clear chances.” We wanted to play a little faster and with a little more force in the last third. Once we scored two goals in the second half, we knew that they were probably out of it. I thought we stayed on track until the very end.
“It’s a good thing for Marcus Rashford. I have to say that he has trained really well, and he could have won three times. The free kick he took was a great example of what he can do.
“There were times in the first half when I thought both Rashford and Foden were a bit quiet. We decided to switch them at halftime, and they did a great job, and it was great that they both scored goals.
“I’ve played before crowds like that in England. It’s amazing to see so many of them, especially when you think about how far they had to go to get there. I thought we did a great job with the pressure. We stayed calm and showed our skills.”
