Marcus Rashford will learn from England Under-20s’ loss to Canada according to coach Keith Downing.
The Manchester United youngster was closely marked for much of the 2-1 victory, although he did play a key role in England’s goal, setting up Kasey Palmer in the second half.
But on a frustrating afternoon at the Keepmoat in Doncaster, Downing believes Rashford will have benefited from the experience.
England Under-20s 1-2 Canada
International friendly
Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster
4pm, Sunday 27 March
Downing explained: “It is part of his learning process. He’s marked closely, and then there’s the expectancy. He’s suddenly in an England shirt and all the interest is with him.
“So it’s all part of his development to continue learning and gaining experience.
“There was speculation whether he was going to be in this squad or the U21s, but we feel it is better for him to be slowly integrated into the U20s.
“There are a couple of his club-mates here, Ashley Fletcher is here too, so that has made him feel welcome.
“He’s had a good week and gained another vital experience.”
England went behind early on to a great strike from Kadin Chung, before Marcos Bustos made it 2-0 to the Canadians midway through the second half.
Rashford set up Palmer as England tried to fight back but it was not enough, and Downing admitted there was some disappointment at the result.
He added: “It is a little bit frustrating. We conceded two poor goals, left ourselves with a mountain to climb and made a slow start.
“These are banana skin games, the fact that we beat them 4-1 on Thursday and then slip up today.
“Is it complacency? We have talked about that and we warned them before the game.
“We had a slow start, conceded early, then we became a bit frenetic and desperate and ultimately lacked a bit of quality, so I am feeling frustrated.”
