Rashford urges England brotherhood as he battles Gordon for World Cup starting spot

Marcus Rashford has urged England to channel the same collective spirit they show for their club sides as Thomas Tuchel attempts to forge a brotherhood mentality within the national camp ahead of their FIFA World Cup Group L fixture against Ghana.

Rashford, currently on loan at Barcelona from Manchester United, is locked in a direct competition with Anthony Gordon — who has recently completed his own move to the Catalan club — for a place in Tuchel’s starting eleven. The forward, now appearing at his fifth major tournament, insists the rivalry is healthy and something the squad must embrace.

“We’re one team and we have to fight for each other in the exact same way that you fight for your club teams,” Rashford said. “That’s the norm now. We understand it’s difficult because everybody wants to play and a lot of players deserve to play. At some point, players are going to be disappointed, but it’s about how you handle it.”

Rashford came off the bench in England’s 4-2 opening victory over Croatia and scored the fourth goal. He is now pushing for a starting role against Ghana, a match in which England can secure their place in the knockout stages with a game to spare.

The 27-year-old called for an intensity that Ghana simply cannot match over the full 90 minutes. “I think we have to bring an intensity that they can’t live with and we try and stick to that,” he said. “If we can play at that level, it can win you games. The one thing we can predict is how we conduct ourselves over 90 minutes or 120 minutes, so I think we just have to focus on that as players. We just have to keep pushing ourselves. We’re definitely capable.”

Rashford sat out an in-house friendly after feeling some discomfort at the end of the Croatia game, but returned to full training with the group following the team’s rest day, easing concerns over his availability.

England could also advance to the knockout rounds as Group L winners before Saturday’s final group game against Panama, should the Central American side fail to beat Croatia in the other Tuesday fixture.