Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford admits the “nasty feeling” of flopping with England is spurring him on ahead of a World Cup 2018 campaign.
At just 20 years of age, the highly rated frontman is readying himself for the second major international finals of his career.
Having burst onto the scene at Old Trafford in the months leading up to Euro 2016, Rashford was thrown in at the deep end by Roy Hodgson as he formed part of a forgettable showing in France.
The painful memories of a disastrous last-16 defeat to Iceland have been difficult to shake for the youngster, but he will get an opportunity to help right a few wrongs in Russia this summer.
Rashford told reporters on the challenges facing the Three Lions: “The feeling of losing is a nasty feeling.
“When you speak about [it], people don't understand. So definitely we'll take all the things that happened at that tournament [Euro 2016] into the next one because that is one of the important things to spur us.
“The main thing is to go into a tournament with confidence in ourselves.
“The easiest way to get that is through performances but we know each individual is working hard in training so we are going to be confident.”
Rashford still has just 18 caps to his name, but is now an established part of the England set-up.
He will be hoping to put his power and pace to good use on a global stage over the coming weeks, with a youthful group of players looking to lead the charge under Gareth Southgate.
“It’s a massive excitement [to play at a World Cup],” Rashford added.
“The squad is very young and a lot of us are looking forward to taking the next step in our careers. Everyone is ready to go and I expect us to go there and express ourselves.”
England will open their campaign against Tunisia on June 18 before going on to face Panama and Belgium in their other Group G fixtures.
