Jamie Redknapp hails Marcus Rashford’s turnaround in form after his World Cup brace against Wales

Jamie Redknapp is full of praise for Marcus Rashford for getting his career back on track after the striker scored twice in England’s 3-0 win against Wales on Tuesday to secure his place in the last 16 of the World Cup.

After missing a penalty in England’s heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat to Italy in last year’s European Championship final, Rashford endured a miserable 2021-22 season in which he scored just four league goals for Manchester United.

This led to him not representing the Three Lions for over 12 months, but he has turned things around this season, scoring eight goals in all competitions to fight his way into Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad.

Marcus Rashford scored twice in England’s victory against Wales at the World Cup on Tuesday

His first goal was a spectacular free kick that flew past Wales goalkeeper Danny Ward

It was a sea change for the striker who struggled under Ralf Rangnick at Man United last season

Rashford seized his chance to play against Wales from the start and scored with a free kick and a powerful left footed shot to cap off his return to the top. the best after initially thinking Rashford could benefit from an exit from Old Trafford.

Referring to a conversation he had with Rashford earlier this season, Redknapp recounted Sky Sports“I said to him, ‘You look like a totally different player, a different guy. What’s changed?’ Because I felt the best thing for him would have been to leave Manchester United and grow and play somewhere else, because he looked like he didn’t like the game anymore.

And he stopped and looked at me, and I was like “what are you going to say to me here because you might not take this question very well?” And the really brilliant answer he gave was, “You know what, I just fell in love with the game again. I realized things weren’t right, I wasn’t putting the work in, I wasn’t happy.”

And he looked like a player deeply unhappy with his game. Now Marcus Rashford has done so many things off the field, things you can only imagine. He changes lives on 22/23, it’s phenomenal what he’s done.

Jamie Redknapp praised Rashford for rediscovering his best form this season

Rashford was all smiles with Gareth Southgate as he came off late in Tuesday’s game

“But on the field, it came at a price for him. And you could see he was taking too much on his young shoulders, and football has to be a priority if you want to be a top player like him.

“Now he produces that kind of football that we know he can do.”

There has been much debate over Rashford’s best position for club and country as he has played through center and on both flanks this season.

He even switched positions on Tuesday night, moving to the right in the second half after starting the game on the opposite wing.

Still, Redknapp believes Rashford’s resurgence doesn’t depend on where he plays, and comes down to one thing: confidence.

“We often talk about trust and it seems so simplistic. People want a bigger answer, whether it’s a tactical change, maybe he’s playing it from the right… it’s not. He feels like a million dollars,” Redknapp continued.

“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 chased everything.

“That’s the fine line in football between being confident, wanting the ball in every part of the pitch, and being unconfident and almost marking yourself, hiding from the ball we saw from Marcus Rashford last year.”

Rashford is now tied with Kylian Mbappé in the World Cup Golden Boot race

After coming off the bench in England’s first two games in Qatar, Rashford shone from the opening whistle in their final group game, leaving Southgate with squad headaches ahead of the side’s round of 16 against Senegal on Sunday.

Redknapp believes Rashford is ready to perform from the start or as a substitute, and even thinks he will have his eye on the Golden Boot after drawing level with Kylian Mbappé, Cody Gakpo and Enner Valencia with three goals in the tournament.

“It can only be good news for England because he looks like a player who is in top form,” said Redknapp.

“Whether he starts or fills in, he will feel so good about himself. Three goals now, he’s looking at the Golden Boot.’