England midfielder Jordan Henderson praised Marcus Rashford in the wake of his display against Spain but insists he must strive to improve.
Gareth Southgate’s men slumped to a 2-1 defeat against Spain on Saturday evening, despite taking the lead at Wembley. Rashford fired the Three Lions into the lead early on, latching on to a pin-point through ball from Man United teammate Luke Shaw and finishing with aplomb.
However, Luis Enrique’s side hit back instantly when Saul Niguez equalised just two minutes later before Rodrigo added a second just after the half-hour mark for the visitors.
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Despite a late-rally from England, the World Cup semifinalists fell to their third consecutive competitive defeat, although they did have a goal wrongly chalked off in injury time when a soft foul on David De Gea was given after Danny Welbeck turned the ball into the net.
As per Sky Sports, Liverpool captain Henderson gave his frank verdict on Rashford’s performance post-match, stating that although he might have added another goal or two to his final tally, he was always a threat and underlined his importance to the team.
The midfielder told reporters: “We all know how talented Marcus is. His was a great finish. He had another one or two chances that maybe he would have liked to have scored but I thought he looked sharp.
“He was lively and he’s always a threat on the counter-attack. He’s a fantastic young player so he just needs to keep learning, keep improving. He’s a big part of our team.”
Southgate must now dust his players down for Tuesday night’s clash with Switzerland, who managed to beat Iceland 6-0 over the weekend. If England are to avoid another disappointing defeat then the likes of Rashford, Harry Kane and Welbeck must all show a more clinical edge in front of goal.
The World Cup exploits of this team are quickly becoming a distant memory and if the Three Lions are to capitalise on the progress they made in Russia it is vital that they get back to winning ways before the momentum they built up completely slips away.