Marcus Rashford goes 'back to basics' after slow start for England vs Slovakia

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Standard Sport5 September 2017

Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford went "back to basics" to help England all-but book their place at next summer's World Cup with a 2-1 win over Slovakia.

The Three Lions had to come from behind at Wembley after Rashford's error early on allowed Stanislav Lobotka to open the scoring.

The Manchester United forward recovered to set up Eric Dier to equalise and then scored the winner in the second half himself to complete the turnaround.

Gareth Southgate's side now sit five points clear at the top of Group F with two qualifying matches remaining and Rashford hailed an important three points.

Photo: AFP/Getty Images
AFP/Getty Images

He told ITV: "It was an important goal, we started a bit slow as a team - and me on a personal note - but we got back into the game together and got the win in the end which is all that matters.

"You have to get back to basics; just do what you've been taught and what you've been working on as a team and in the end that's what got us back into the game.

"In these games it's important to start fast because of the quality which is on the pitch and if you don't you pay for it."

England conceded after just three minutes when an error from Rashford was capitalised on by Lobotka.

Photo: Getty Images
Getty Images

The 19-year-old made amends, though, when his corner was swept home at the near post by Dier after 36 minutes.

Rashford went one better after the break, lashing home a right-footed effort from just outside the box to hand England a vital victory.

England boss Southgate was also impressed by the performance of Rashford.

He said: "Like the rest of the team, he showed great character. He's obviously made the mistake for the goal, but kept persevering and was a real threat.

Photo: AFP/Getty Images
AFP/Getty Images

"It's very early, we've got to keep things in perspective, but he is exciting. He can have an impact in games but there's a long way to go."

On an incident in which Dele Alli appeared to make a gesture towards the referee, Southgate added: "I've not seen it, but we'll have a look at it over the next couple of days."

Additional reporting by the Press Association.