The chief coach of England, Thomas Tuchel, says he has spoken with Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden after they fought on Friday’s victory over Albania, and that they know that “appreciates” their effort.
Rashford and Foden could not cause a significant impression in the first game of the German by the three lions, and Tuchel said immediately after the 2-0 victory that “they were not as shocking as they can be.”
England faces Latvia in Wembley on Monday in its second World Cup 2026 qualifier.
“I’ve talked to both and in front of the group,” Tuchel told BBC Sport. “They know that I appreciate the effort, especially outside the ball.
“We can see in the numbers how much effort they put in high defense and in the counter -presea.
“Marcus had many races when we had the ball where we didn’t see it, where we didn’t use it. He had a bit of bad luck maybe with the moment and occasionally we supervised it.
“Phil may not find the impulse at the time he can have. But both are very positive, they have every right to be positive and know exactly what we want from them.
“But out of the ball, the effort was there and that is what counts.”
Striker Rashford, borrowed at Aston Villa del Manchester United, was making his first start of England in more than a year, while Foden has suffered a difficult season with Manchester City.
Tuchel, who will be without the end of Newcastle, Anthony Gordon, due to a hip injury, says that “he is not afraid” of making changes to the Latvia game, but that no one would be eliminated “from a performance point of view.”
