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Gianfranco Zola delivers verdict on England stars Marcus Rashford and Dele Alli
MARCUS RASHFORD and Dele Alli are England’s two most exciting prospects, according to former Italian footballer Gianfranco Zola.
Gianfranco Zola thinks Marcus Rashford and Dele Alli could be key to England's success in Russia
England face Italy at Wembley tonight as they continue their World Cup preparations, while Italy failed to qualify for the tournament for the first time since 1958.
Speaking ahead of the game, Zola was very complimentary of England’s youngsters.
“I really like Rashford, he's a great talent and I'm surprised that he's been playing intermittently in Manchester United,” Zola told La Gazetta dello Sport.
Rashford has only started one league game since the arrival of Alexis Sanchez at Manchester United, compared to 14 starts in 25 games before then.
Marcus Rashford and Dele Alli will be hoping to gel as well on the pitch as they do off it
If Alli puts his head right, he can become a top player
“The other interesting element [of the team] is Dele Alli,” Zola continued.
“If he puts his head right, he can become a top player. Just look at the statistics, he has goals in his blood.”
Allí has scored 34 Premier League goals in 99 appearances for Tottenham, but hasn’t quite replicated that form for England, scoring two goals in 23 appearances.
On his national side, Zola was far less complimentary.
"There is an unequivocal fact: we do not have any more players of international value,” said Zola.
“So the question arises: why do not we produce more champions? Because in Italy, apart from Insigne and Verdi, who has not yet found space in the national team, we have no players able to beat a man.”
When pressed on which countries he thinks will make the World Cup semi-finals, Zola replied: “Argentina, Spain, Germany and Belgium.”