Gareth Southgate has eased concerns about Marcus Rashford after he was benched in England’s 2-2 draw with Belgium on Tuesday evening.
The Three Lions had an exciting match at Wembley and appeared to be en route to a second consecutive loss until Jude Bellingham scored in the 95th minute.
With England needing a late equalizer, Southgate brought on Ollie Watkins, Anthony Gordon and James Maddison – with the latter helping Bellingham’s last-minute equalizer.
Despite being given just 15 minutes of play time against Brazil over the weekend, Manchester United's Rashford remained on the bench.
There have been suggestions that the 26-year-old has been dealing with a injury since last month's end, but Southgate says Rashford was healthy and he just wanted to give Gordon another chance on the left wing after his promising performance against Brazil.
Asked about his choice not to play Rashford and whether it was injury-related, Southgate replied: 'No, I wanted to see Anthony Gordon again.
'I thought he had a great impact in the first game and I thought that [James] Maddison coming into that area could open things up for us a bit.'
While Rashford couldn't play, United team-mate Kobbie Mainoo made his first-ever England start and impressed, although Southgate has hinted that the midfield dynamic may have been a bit too open.
Asked about the 18-year-old and how the new-look midfield trio worked, Southgate continued: 'His abilities are clear to see for everyone. That ability to receive the ball under pressure and navigate challenges, to control the ball in tight spaces.
‘We were a bit more open, there’s no doubt about that. We wanted to press aggressively and there were times where we lost possession near their goal and had opportunities we should have taken.
‘On the other hand, we encountered some issues with [Orel] Mangala moving wide and [Youri] Tielemans in the area, which meant that when our center-backs moved in, we left our center-backs one-on-one and struggled a bit with that.
‘So there are aspects to consider within that.
‘He gives us a different type of midfield player compared to anyone else we have and we’re very pleased with what he’s done.
‘He has adapted and adjusted extremely well, you can hardly believe his age, how calmly he’s handling it all.'
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