Was Marcus Rashford really good for England against Wales? This is not a troll question

Is it only Outcome Bias after his two goals that got Marcus Rashford's praise? Plus, thoughts on England, Gareth Southgate and more.

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Was Marcus Rashford all that against Wales? OK, I imagine the clamor for Rashford may have died down a bit since the other night, but may I ask if anyone else was unimpressed with his performance?

I'm not trolling, and I'm happy to be corrected.

Obviously, his free kick was magnificent. I'm not stupid. But his second goal was a pretty shitty goalkeeper and I wonder if he would have scored against someone who wasn't average. Obviously that first chance Kane gave him and he didn't score also sticks in my mind.

But my most important memory of the game is watching him lose the ball – repeatedly.

Either making passes that didn't reach where they should or being tackled when he tried to dribble.

Does anyone have any stats to help me? I would like to be corrected. But I think I watched a different game than others because all I've heard since that game is that it's wonderful.

I remember the 2018 World Cup when my friend and I had an argument over the usefulness of Henderson who he said just passed back and to the side and offered nothing . We had a bet of £10 because I knew Henderson was classy and did a lot more than that – and I won by a wide margin. Now my friend can accept that Henderson is much better than he thought.

So, I'm wondering here: Am I wrong about Rashford? Or is it everyone? Is he the second comer, or is he a guy who hit the ball surprisingly well once, then scored again, but offered nothing else the whole game.

It's potentially somewhere in the middle, but I'd like to see some stats to help me out. Nick P. Burnley FC. (yes, I did Google for the stats but I couldn't find anything…)

(It's a mixed bag, Nick. He's dribbled past more players than anyone else but lost the ball with a bad touch more than anyone else. Some claim the data is on his side - Ed)

Um… England have just qualified for the second round of the World Cup, first in the group, with two wins and one draw and nine goals. Are Badwolf and Anon sure they really love football?Robert, Birmingham

Fortune may favor brave Gareth To be clear, as an England fan, I don't hate Gareth and I don't want England to lose. In fact, I want us to win the World Cup. So what's my problem with Gareth?

I don't think anyone would consider Southgate a top manager - certainly no big club in Europe would - but the bar for an international manager is much lower. Is he worse than Martinez who destroyed Belgium's golden generation; Van Gaal doing his best to stop the Dutch, or even Deschamps who actually won something but is shockingly incompetent on most levels (and wouldn't get a top European job either). /p>

France won despite Deschamps because they had an incredible pool of talent for a long time, resulting in a world-class team.

England are now in a similar position.

I was pleasantly surprised by the setup of Iran and Wales, and after the American drudge game where Southgate sucked the oxygen out of the room, it's clear to most that England should probably focus on our strengths (attack) instead of our weaknesses (defend).

This is where the rubber hits the road - England playing on the front foot (first 5 mins against Italy, Germany recently etc etc) with a version of the 4-3- 3 is a very dangerous proposition, and as an England Fan, great to watch. This version of England has every chance of beating France and winning the World Cup. A defensive double pivoted back five, sabotaging it long to Kane will get ripped.

If Gareth plays to our strengths by playing attacking football with our best players on the pitch (not clamoring b/s, but our best players playing in a system that works), very few fans will complain. Ball from Mourinho who has already failed twice under pressure... not that much.

That's really - quite a low bar - but in international football it could be enough. Matthew (England)

Reply to Southgate CriticsI'm going to agree with you. I would like to see England be a little bolder and would prefer Rashford to start with Sterling (because I just don't think he is very good and watching him now play for the team I support is even worse) and having Bellingham pushed further but I'm not a football manager and Southgate, like it or not, clearly is.

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