Marcus Rashford: 'Moments like this is what I play football for'

Marcus Rashford stressed the best is still to come from England despite an impressive win on Tuesday night and stated moments like his two goals against Wales is why he plays football.

The Three Lions had to show patience against their neighbours in the first half on Tuesday night but Rashford scored a stunning free-kick to break the deadlock five minutes into the second period, before Phil Foden added another a minute later.

And Rashford rounded off an impressive display with a second impressive finish on 68 minutes to cement England’s progression to the last 16 in emphatic style.

Rashford said: “Moments like this, this is what I play football for: the biggest moments, the best moments.

“I'm really happy today, I'm happy we're going through to the next round and hopefully we can build on this performance as I have massive ambitions for this team and I think we can play even better.”

England’s 3-0 win over Wales meant they topped Group B with seven points to book a last 16 tie against Senegal on Sunday, with the USA finishing as runners-up after their 1-0 win over Iran.

The Three Lions’ emphatic wins over Iran and Wales were either side of a 0-0 draw with USA, when they struggled to create many chances.

And Rashford said: “It's obviously a great feeling. We were a bit disappointed as a team after the last game against the USA, I thought we could have played a lot better and the only way to bounce back from that is to have a good performance in your next game and I thought we did that.

“First half we defended brilliantly, didn't give them any opportunities and it was just about us killing the game off and taking the chances when they came.”

He continued: “At half time, the manager said we're playing well but the one thing we can work better on is shots on goal. We only had two or three in the first half, we wanted to work the keeper more, keep getting in dangerous positions and second half we made them count.”

Rashford’s opening goal against Wales was a wonderful free-kick and the forward said: “I fancied one in the first half but the one in the second half was in a better position. From there, it's just about being calm and trying to execute what you practice in training. They don't go in often but I'm pleased that it went in today.”