Gareth Southgate has heaped praise on Marcus Rashford after he fired England into the World Cup last 16 following his brace in their 3-0 win over Wales on Tuesday.

Rashford’s superb free kick broke the tie at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Tuesday, putting England on track to play Senegal in the round of 16.

Just seconds later, Phil Foden doubled England’s lead, and Rashford scored again to make sure Gareth Southgate’s team came out on top of Group B.

Rashford had a hard time that night. When he scored a goal, he pointed to the sky to honor a friend who had recently died.

“I lost one of my friends a couple of days ago. He had quite a long battle with cancer. I’m pleased I scored for him, he was a big supporter and good friend of mine. He was someone who came into my life,” Rashford said.

Southgate didn’t know why Rashford was celebrating until after the game, but the heartfelt tribute only made him like the 25-year-old player more.

Rashford was criticised by some England fans after he missed a penalty kick in the European Championship final last year, which England lost to Italy in a shootout.

The Manchester United star was one of three England players who missed their penalty in that painful shootout. Right after England lost at Wembley, he was called racist things on social media.

Rashford’s play for United got much worse last season, and for a while it looked like he might be sold.

But United manager Erik ten Hag has given Rashford a new lease on life since taking over in the off-season, and he was playing well for his club team before the World Cup.

“It’s been a challenge for him. I went and saw him in the summer. I had a long chat with him,” Southgate said.

“He had some clear ideas on things that he needed to think about. You can see with his club there has been happiness in his performances.

“You can see that in training with us. We have got a completely different player than we had at the Euros last year. It’s great for him and great for us.”

Photo by EPA/Georgi Licovski