Rashford criticisms overblown in England's win for Aston Villa attacker | OneFootball

Leave it to everyone else to dismiss the Aston Villa players, specifically Marcus Rashford. In a game that saw the opposition get all 11 bodies behind the ball, the England attack knew they'd have to do a lot in order to break down Latvia. As evident by the final 3-0 scoreline, Thomas Tuchel's side was able to do so.

There were plenty of voices, however, whether subtle or otherwise, like Lee Dixon, who downplayed the performance of Rashford on the evening. Yes, he did well coming off the bench and grabbing a goal. To then arrive at the conclusion that the AVFC forward did poorly because he didn't see one of his efforts go in the back of the net is too dismissive out of hand.

Rashford created issues for Latvia in both halves. Individually getting around defenders and through combination play with Jude Bellingham and fellow Aston Villa teammate Morgan Rogers, he made life very difficult for the Wembley visitors.

Football on TNT Sports even showed this to be the case with their social media post. They let fans know that it was Rashford (probably to the complete shock of Dixon) who had created the most chances while on the pitch. The account listed the total at six, but more to the point, he made the Latvian side uncomfortable and worried about his abilities throughout the match.

Tuchel wanted to see players trying to actively impact the game, and that's exactly what he got from Rashford. He did well in his 1-v-1 situations and was only the slightest of different angles away from at least having an assist for England during the World Cup qualifier.

Positive efforts from Aston Villa players

More importantly, he followed the aim of the German manager and kept the opportunities pouring in for England. On what ended up being Harry Kane's goal, he and Rogers were very much directly involved in the buildup, as their play set up an opportunistic Declan Rice, who then located the striker.

For some, Rashford scoring a hat trick would mean that he didn't grab four goals. He is apparently irredeemable in the eyes of many. Fortunately, their opinions do not matter here, as the German manager appeared more than pleased following the victory. All of the Aston Villa players, Rashford included, made excellent cases for continued starting XI consideration.