Marcus Rashford's odds to start England's World Cup opener against Croatia

Competition for places is intense in the England squad and a fascinating rivalry is set to unfold for the left wing spot in Thomas Tuchel's starting XI.

Marcus Rashford and Anthony Gordon are set to rival each other for the vacancy on the left flank, and the battle to be Tuchel's first choice in the position has been made all the more intriguing following Gordon's transfer from Newcastle United to Barcelona.

Rashford arrives at the World Cup off the back of a strong season under Hansi Flick in the Catalan capital. The Manchester United forward would like to make his move to the Nou Camp permanent, but his club future beyond this summer is now uncertain following Gordon's permanent capture.

Barcelona splashed €70m plus €10m in add-ons to acquire Gordon; but the Blaugrana are unwilling to meet United's non-negotiable €30m option-to-buy clause for Rashford.

It's a chain of events that should serve plenty of motivation for Rashford, and he arrives in North America in impeccable shape.

A week before the rest of his England team-mates arrived, Rashford flew into Florida and trained at the Inter Miami training complex under the supervision of a private coach.

Acclimatising to the heat and humidity of the Sunshine State, Rashford has been working hard behind the scenes to ensure he's in the best possible condition to contribute during the World Cup. The results were evident during England's warm-up match against New Zealand; the 28-year-old looked sharp.

In what was more of a training session than a competitive fixture, Rashford stood out by contributing a match-high five chances. His shooting was a little wayward, although most of his team-mates were also guilty of being inaccurate. Tuchel took great encourgament from Rashford's ability to fashion those opportunities.

Gordon, on the other hand, was subdued during the second 45 minutes after replacing Rashford.

What's been evident throughout Tuchel's tenure as Three Lions boss is his support of Rashford. The former Chelsea boss recalled him from the international wilderness whilst Rashford was being subjected to a bit-part role at Aston Villa, and the former Manchester United academy graduate has gone from strength to strength since then.

He only made 18 starts in La Liga for Barcelona, but he's seemingly rediscovered the sparkle that had diminished in the latter stages of Erik ten Hag's era at Old Trafford.

Tuchel will tinker further in the friendly against Costa Rica in Orlando on Wednesday, where we will likely receive a clearer picture of what his starting XI might look like for England's opening World Cup fixture against Croatia in Dallas on 17th June. Rashford is 8/15 to start England's opener, while Gordon is 7/4.

Marcus Rashford's World Cup odds

(Odds will display when market is available).

All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.