Gareth Southgate assesses Phil Foden & Marcus Rashford performances in England win over Wales

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Gareth Southgate assesses Phil Foden & Marcus Rashford performances in England win over Wales

Gareth Southgate has hailed Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden's performances in England's impressive 3-0 win over Wales in their final group game of the World Cup.

Rashford and Foden both got on the scoresheet in the second half, with the former scoring a brace and going to the top of the tournament's scoring charts, and were instrumental in the Three Lions' dynamic attacking play at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium.

All the talk leading into the game was around Southgate's refusal to bring Foden on against USMNT, and the attacking midfielder proved his worth when given the chance to start against Wales.

Speaking to BBC Sport about the pair, and the game itself, the England manager said: "In the first half we controlled the game but we didn’t create enough clear chances. We wanted a bit more thrust in the final third, to play forward a bit quicker. The second half, once we got the two goals, we knew that their spirit had probably gone. I thought we kept our discipline right until the end.

"It’s great for [Marcus Rashford]. He’s trained really well, I have to say, and he could have had a hat-trick. His free-kick was an incredible strike; that’s what he’s capable of.

"In moments I thought both [Rashford and Foden] were a bit quiet in the first half. We decided to switch them at half-time and they responded really well, and for them to both get their goals was great.

"I’ve played in front of England crowds like that. It’s an amazing feeling when you see them in such numbers, especially when you think how far they’ve had to travel. I thought we dealt with the pressure really well – we were calm and we showed our quality."