It wasn´t so good to begin with! – Rashford revival delights Dier

Eric Dier has tipped Marcus Rashford to shine at the World Cup after the Manchester United teenager recovered from an early mistake to score England’s winner in an important 2-1 victory over Slovakia.

Rashford, back covering for defender Kyle Walker, gave the ball away in the build-up to Stanislav Lobotka’s third-minute opener in the UEFA qualifying match at Wembley on Monday.

The 19-year-old responded in fine style, though, supplying the assist for Dier’s first-half equaliser before netting the decisive goal with a strike from outside the area in the 59th minute. 

The result saw England close in on qualification for the tournament in Russia next year and, asked by ITV about his young team-mate’s contribution, Dier jokingly replied: “It wasn’t so good to begin with but it got better! 

“He did really well. It was a fantastic show of character to make a mistake for them to score and come back himself and score the winner, which gets us even closer to the World Cup, which hopefully he’ll shine at. Credit to him.”

Well played, @MarcusRashford. pic.twitter.com/E0DQIryMeF

— England (@England) September 4, 2017

Rashford cut a relieved figure after reviving his fortunes, and acknowledged the need for England to start better, having found themselves second best to Slovakia early in the contest. 

“It was an important goal today,” he said. “We started a bit slow as a team. Especially me, on a personal note.

“We got back into the game and got the winner and that’s all that matters. 

“You’ve just got to go back to basics, do what you’ve been taught, what you’ve been working on all week as a team, that’s what got us back into the game.

“You have to start fast because of the quality that’s on the pitch. And if you don’t you’ll be paying for it.”

Of the result, Dier added: “It was really, really important. We needed the win today to get us closer to the World Cup. That’s the objective.