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He is still only 19 years of age, but there seems to be little that fazes Marcus Rashford.
The boy whose rapid rise to fame with Manchester United was handled with the calm demeanour of a man twice his age was given one of the toughest examinations yet of his temperament on Monday night. But he delivered in abundance to steer England to within a whisker of the World Cup finals in Russia next summer.
 
Making only his second competitive start for his national side in the qualifying fixture against Slovakia at Wembley, Rashford gave the visitors a huge helping hand in the opening moments but showed tremendous resilience and character to lead the Three Lions to a crucial 2-1 victory in Group F.
 
Rashford was all too easily dispossessed in the defensive third in the third minute of the contest by Stanislav Lobotka, who exchanged quick passes with Adam Nemec and then side-footed easily past Joe Hart. For every bit that Rashford showed naivety in the first instance, Hart showed an utter lack of form in the latter as the ball sailed between his body and his outstretched arm from a standing position.
 
For half an hour, England looked shell-shocked and short of ideas until Harry Kane won a corner and Rashford sent in the flag-kick to the near post where Eric Dier flicked the ball home. It was a barely-deserved equaliser, but it at least gave Gareth Southgate’s men a foothold in the game and increased their chances of finding space in Slovakia’s half with the away side really needing to win the game.
 
And the man who was always most likely to exploit such space did exactly that on the hour as he picked the ball up, drove forward and across Martin Dubravka out of nothing. England were ahead and Rashford had completed one of the speediest stories of redemption in recent memory.
 
Southgate has not appeared particularly keen to give Rashford much game time since mopping up Sam Allardyce's mess a year ago, but on this performance there appears little reason not to make the young Mancunian one of his key men in the weeks and months to come.
 
Since the slow demise and eventual retirement of Wayne Rooney, England have found themselves searching for a reference point of sorts in attack. But over the past couple of games it has been Rashford who has led them forward. His arrival as a half-time substitute against Malta on Friday changed the course of the match entirely, and at Wembley on Monday he made himself even more indispensable.
 
There are yet nine months to go before the main event begins in Russia, and England still have to earn one more win to book their flight, but Rashford’s name is surely a certainty to be included in Southgate’s plans.
 
With young stars like Kylian Mbappe, Thomas Lemar and Paul Pogba, France have been widely tipped as the winners of the 2018 World Cup. The bookmakers' odds reflect that, with Didier Deschamps' side favourites to win the competition outright. Sunday's shock 0-0 draw with Luxembourg has seen the odds wobble slightly, as Germany come into contention in the betting market as one of the most likely to lift the trophy in Russia next summer.
 
France's young talent have broken transfer records the last couple of seasons, grabbing headlines and the attention of football fans and pundits in the process. While all this was going on, Joachim Low continued to develop his side, picking up the pieces after a disappointing semi-final exit at Euro 2016 to Les Bleus, turning them into football's most finely tuned international side.
 
Thanks to Monday night's commanding victory over Norway, Germany are just a point away from joining hosts Russia and Group H winners Belgium at the 2018 World Cup. Low's men have gotten this far in ruthless style, winning all eight of their qualifiers so far with 18 different players getting on the scoresheet throughout the campaign.
 
A late goal by defender Mats Hummels was needed to secure a win away to the Czech Republic on Friday, but that was the only time Germany failed to put their opponents to the sword after starting the campaign brilliantly with 3-0 wins over Norway and the Czechs to lay down a marker.
 
Whereas other teams have a core team of players, Germany's strength in depth is extraordinary. Low picked a host of fringe players and young talent for June's Confederations Cup, and many expected Die Mannschaft to do well but ultimately be undone by a lack of experience in the competition. Euro 2016 winners Portugal brought a strong roster, led by captain Cristiano Ronaldo, while Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal were included in Chile's squad.
 
Portugal's panel was full of international veterans, with Ronaldo and Nani both in the 100-cap club before the competition, while Joao Moutinho reached that landmark during the group stage. Similarly, Chile had four players with over 100 international appearances, and two more who had played 90 times for their country. By contrast, Germany's captain and most capped player was Julian Draxler, whose 30th cap came against San Marino just a week before the tournament kicked off.
 
Going into the tournament, Low even tempered expectations, saying that his hope was for the young players to get experience at the highest level and for a small handful of the squad to play themselves into contention for next year.
 
"The 2018 World Cup, and winning the title again, that is the vision," Low told reporters.
"A mission on the way is participating at the Confed Cup with the goal that three or four players will be able to put pressure on our established stars, when it comes to 2018. We want to lift players to a new level — achieving that is what matters to me. I already know I have 12, 13 World Cup winners with a lot of experience and class, but they need competition for their places."
 
Low's young squad did more than just impress themselves on the manager: They topped their group before smashing Mexico in the semi-final, and then lifted the trophy thanks to a 1-0 win against Chile in the final. All that without the vast majority of their key players.
 
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