Marcus Rashford says England attack is 'frightening' going into Euro 2020
Last updated on .From the section Football
Marcus Rashford says England's attacking play is "frightening" and has the potential to inspire the Three Lions to a successful Euro 2020.
Gareth Southgate's side's 38 goals in 2019 is the most the national team have scored in a calendar year since 1908.
They ended their Euro 2020 qualifying group with seven wins out of eight and 37 goals, with 20 of those scored by Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling.
"I think it is a good combination," said Manchester United's Rashford.
"But we have played games without that particular front three and it is frightening what we can do as a group of attackers.
"I think all of these games are just gearing you up for the summer and if we go into the summer anywhere near the sort of form we have been in recently then it will be a successful tournament."
Sutton questions Kane's starting place
Despite an international break in which England scored 11 goals - a 7-0 thrashing of Montenegro to secure top spot in Group A followed by a 4-0 win in Kosovo - former Premier League striker Chris Sutton said captain Kane is not certain of a starting place in the side.
Kane scored a hat-trick against Montenegro and has taken his Three Lions tally to 32 goals, making him sixth on the country's list of top scorers.
He also won the Golden Boot at the 2018 World Cup, but Sutton told BBC Radio 5 Live he does not consider him a certain starter next summer.
"Going into the game against Kosovo, I thought two players were cemented in [England manager] Gareth Southgate's starting XI, and that would be Harry Maguire and Sterling," said Sutton.
"If you look at Harry Kane's form in the Premier League this season, you would say that Tammy Abraham has played better this season for his club.
"It is not an easy decision, but if you strip everything back and look at club form in the Premier League this season, Kane would be third choice behind Abraham and Jamie Vardy.
"It's good for Southgate that Kane is being pushed."
Kane has six goals in 11 games in the Premier League for Tottenham, while Abraham is the English top-flight's second-highest scorer this term with 10 in 12, one behind Leicester City talisman Jamie Vardy.
Abraham, 22, scored his first goal for England against Kosovo.
Southgate 'realistic' about his own future
While Southgate is planning for next summer's European Championship, he also has one eye on the World Cup in Qatar in 2022,
Southgate will head to Qatar for Liverpool's Club World Cup campaign next month and will look at potential team bases.
But he said the past fortnight, which featured a high-profile confrontation between Sterling and Joe Gomez, was a reminder that no England manager can afford to plan too far ahead.
Southgate said his future will "depend very much on how we get on next summer".
"When you have a week like you've had, you sense that people can fall out of love with you and if there isn't a warmth for you to continue, then that can start to affect the team," he added.
"So, I'm realistic about how quickly those tides can turn, but we've always planned short, mid and long term over the past eight years."
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20 goals and 6 assists 3 months into the season and you think he shouldn’t start?!
England would be wise not to get carried away with these big wins, it's becoming the norm - Italy won 9-0 today, Spain 6-0 the other day.
Qualifying records are only remembered by waffling commentators.
“hopeless / can’t beat top teams / clear out needed / 54 years ha ha”.
If England win Euro 2020
“played no decent teams / fluke / one off / ref was biased / unfair because it was at Wembley / what do you expect with all that money / he was offside / should have been a penalty.
As for Sutton saying Kane would be third choice - nonsense. Does he think Vardy would’ve scored 12 if he’d played the qualifiers? People seem to forget he did play for England - and he wasn’t superman. Kane’s England form has been superb, and he’s a definite starter as things stand.
I guess taking out Lingard from any team will improve it considerably!
So is the England defence.
Maybe England should win something before they start spouting how good they think they are
Let me be clear... I don't support a Prem team, so there's no bias here. Just my opinion. Kane will end up with 60+ goals for England, Sterling 100+ caps. Rashford, the jury is still out but I have confidence in him.