Tuchel

England face Latvia in Riga on Tuesday knowing victory will guarantee qualification for next summer’s World Cup in Mexico, Canada and the United States.

Rashford, who scored two goals in the Champions League for Barca against Newcastle United, has fallen out of favour at Manchester United and is looking to get his career back on track away from his boyhood club.

In January, manager Ruben Amorim criticised Rashford for not showing the attitude of someone “giving the maximum every day”.

Tuchel pointed out that Rashford is still young enough to make the right decisions in his career “because otherwise, he will be disappointed in 10 years at what could have been and what he made of it”.

Barcelona boss Hansi Flick has been pleased with Rashford’s efforts so far though, calling him “unbelievable”. The La Liga club has the option of signing him on a permanent basis for £30m in 2026.

“I think the limit for him is very, very high. Maybe higher than for others,” said Tuchel. “He has the potential – but potential is a dangerous word with high-level sports.

“You have to reach your personal best on a regular basis – that is what is demanded on this kind of level, and that is the challenge for him.

“He can be one of the best in the world because the quality I see in training, the finishing with both legs and with the head.

“He is explosive, he is fast, he is strong in the air, so where are the limits?

“There are no limits – but the numbers don’t reach the potential, it is as easy as that.”

Manager Thomas Tuchel said England’s commanding performance against Serbia has set “the bar” as they took a step closer to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.

The Three Lions had faced criticism for lacklustre performances in this qualifying campaign, despite having won all five of their Group K matches.

But a 5-0 thrashing of Serbia in Belgrade on Tuesday is perhaps the eye-catching performance Tuchel’s England needed.

“We had an excellent week from start to finish. We’ve just proved what I’ve seen every day in this camp and this makes me very happy,” said German boss Tuchel.

“This camp was the benchmark.”

England now need five points from their final three games to reach next summer’s World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Sitting seven points clear at the top of the group, Tuchel’s side will face Latvia in October before taking on Serbia then Albania in November.

“This week was excellent. The attitude, the way we played in both matches. Today is a statement victory against a difficult opponent in a difficult environment,” Tuchel said.

England stifled Serbia and the hosts failed to get any of their three shots on target, leaving Jordan Pickford without a single save to make.

England had 24 shots and 12 on target while they had 42 touches in the opposition box as Serbia recorded just four.

Harry Kane and Noni Madueke gave England a deserved half-time lead before Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi and Marcus Rashford wrapped up an impressive victory.

“There was no negative attitude on the pitch, no frustration on the pitch. For me, it was teamwork in it’s purest form. Then we played football to a high level and got a deserved win,” Tuchel said.

“We had a bit of a stop-start game against Andorra and the result was maybe not the result that everyone expected from us. I kept the belief but at some point you need to prove it also as a player, that it’s not just only words from your coach.

“They kept on doing and I think they kept on believing, and they felt themselves that this is the spirit that we need in camp and that will give us the extra level of quality.”