Marcus Rashford is confident that Ghana will be unable to match England if they play at a high level of intensity in their second World Cup match on Tuesday. After a dramatic 4-2 victory over Croatia in their first group game, the Sons of Albion will face Ghana - who also have three points after beating Panama 1-0 - on the second day of the competition. A victory would take England through to the knockout stages and, provided Croatia don't lose to Panama, it could also guarantee them top spot in the group with one round to go. Rashford scored against Croatia by cutting inside and sending the ball into the far corner, completing a successful counter-attack in the 85th minute to give England three points. Rashford, who replaced Anthony Gordon from the bench in the 72nd minute, received an assist from another substitute, Bukayo Saka - making it only the second goal in World Cup history for England to be scored and assisted by players coming off the bench, after Jack Grealish's strike with an assist from Callum Wilson against Iran in 2022. England are bidding to win their first two World Cup matches for the fourth time, repeating a feat they achieved in 1982, 2006 and 2018, and Rashford believes if they concentrate on their own play in Boston they will prevail. "I think we have to play with an intensity that they can't handle and stick with it," the striker said in an interview with the English Football Association media. "If we can play at this level, then we can win games. The only thing we can predict is how we behave for 90 or 120 minutes. So I think we have to focus on that as players. We just have to keep pushing ourselves. We are definitely capable of that." Rashford could be a candidate to join the England starting line-up if Thomas Tuchel decides to make changes with a fully fit squad after all 26 players trained on Monday. While the competition in the England ranks is fierce, Rashford knows they will all get the chance to perform as the tournament progresses. "We are one team and we have to fight for ourselves in exactly the same way you fight for your clubs," Rashford said. "This is the norm now. We understand it's difficult because everyone wants to play and many players deserve to play. At some point the players will be disappointed, but it's about how you deal with it." England is undefeated in matches against African teams at the World Cup - in eight previous such matches they won five and drew three. Ghana will be England's eighth different African opponents at the World Cup, after Morocco, Egypt, Cameroon, Tunisia, Nigeria, Algeria and Senegal, which is more than any other national team.
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