Rashford trains in the rain after shootout success
Penalty hero Marcus Rashford trained with England’s back-ups the day after helping Gareth Southgate’s men to a memorable World Cup shootout win against Colombia.
Tuesday’s last-16 match against the South Americans went all the way in Moscow, but the Three Lions managed to set up a mouth-watering quarter-final against Sweden as they overcame their Achilles heel.
Preparations got under way with earnest for Saturday’s clash in Samara on Wednesday afternoon despite the group’s lack of sleep – they returned to their Repino base at around 6.30am.
England arrive in Repino
Rashford was the only player to feature against Colombia to train in the pouring rain at Spartak Zelenogorsk, where he was part of an eight-strong playing group outnumbered by staff.
The 20-year-old forward was brought on late in extra-time and was not deemed to have done enough to warrant a normal recovery session, which the other players did back at the team hotel.
There were also a number of injuries being assessed at the forRestMix Club.
Southgate likened the scene in the dressing room on Tuesday night to “a scene from M*A*S*H.”
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Jamie Vardy’s groin issue is among the knocks being looked at by England’s medical staff, although the severity is not expected to become clear until Thursday.