Submitted by content on Thu, 07/26/2018 - 13:33
Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas believes Marcus Rashford has not gained enough experience to warrant a starting role with England. The Manchester United youngster has made significant strides at club level over the past 24 months but Fabregas does not agree with the point that he should replace Raheem Sterling in the starting lineup.
Speaking on BBC Sport, he said: “Yeah he did play well. I don’t know why, for now, I know he’s still young and has lot of quality, but Rashford for now I still like to make impacts in the second half.When teams are a bit more tired he brings so much energy, he makes the difference.When he starts games I don’t really see that. I think Sterling is a player that I really like and with confidence I think he can bring a lot.”
England secured a late 2-1 win over Tunisia in the World Cup opener where Harry Kane scored a brace but they could have quite easily doubled the score, had some of the refereeing decisions gone their way. Nevertheless, the British media was highly critical regarding the showing of Sterling, who struggled to impress and Gareth Southgate may yet replace him with Rashford in the lineup.
Meanwhile, there could be another change at the heart of the midfield with Dele Alli struggling with a groin problem. Against Panama, the Three Lions are expected to have the vast part of the possession and Southgate may not take a risk with the Tottenham ace, unless he manages to completely recover from the injury.
In Alli’s absence, Ruben Loftus-Cheek appears the leading candidate to start in central midfield after an impressive bench performance versus Tunisia. The Chelsea youngster has earned plenty of praise from Southgate over the past year and his impressive showing has jumped him ahead of Eric Dier in the pecking order.