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Marcus Rashford has gone up in Thomas Tuchel's estimation after making a strong impression in England training. Having previously delivered some harsh criticism, Tuchel's stance appeared to soften following Rashford's performance against Uruguay, potentially enhancing his prospects of earning a spot in the World Cup starting XI.

Last October, Tuchel issued a blunt warning to the Manchester United outcast, questioning whether he would fulfil his potential as a world-class talent. He said: "Potential is a dangerous word with high-level sports, because you have to reach your personal best on a regular basis - that is demanded on this kind of level and that is the challenge for him. It is not a question of talent."

Those remarks came ahead of England's win in Latvia, where Rashford was notably relegated to the bench while Anthony Gordon started and found the net in a 5-0 rout.

However, Tuchel chose to start with Rashford against Uruguay after being impressed with his commitment and application during training.

The German said: "He tries. He tries hard. He hasn't started a game for a long, long time. So we gave him this because I spoke to him.

"I was very impressed with the training yesterday. It was a defensive training and he was very strong with Djed Spence on the side.

"Understanding how to initiate the press for us. He worked hard and I think he worked very hard. He just can't get the goal that he maybe needs to be in full confidence. I'm happy with the way he tried and it was a constant threat."

Rashford's most recent England goal arrived against Serbia last September.

Nevertheless, he has now regained Tuchel's approval, with Dominic Solanke also receiving praise alongside James Garner, whose versatility - able to feature at right-back and in midfield - could make him a late candidate for selection.

Everton boss David Moyes has been an outspoken supporter of Garner and Tuchel has demonstrated considerable interest in the player.

The England squad approached the Uruguay fixture treating it as an audition, with a feeling that individual displays carried more significance than the overall result.

Tuchel has suggested he received exactly what he was seeking from the Uruguay match and the prior training sessions.

Players were expected to stake their claim before the established stars returned for the Japan fixture.

Tuchel stated: "I was looking forward to that match, I tell you. I was looking forward because we had some good training sessions and the group was a lively group.

"We said to the group today: do we expect everything to be perfect? Yeah, maybe yes, because we always do.

"But we are smart enough to understand. you play for the first time, you may be nervous and you have a lot of information to take in over the last days.

"So it will maybe take a while and the opponents, they know what they are doing. They are playing in their best formation, so just keep going, stay positive, and they did.

"I liked the group a lot. I was excited to coach them. I was very happy when I did it. It seemed like we got a win for it, but it was good. It was nice."

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