Marcus Rashford in action for England vs USA

The stalemate that England played out with the United States of America on Friday was a disheartening show for England supporters watching at home or in Qatar.

The team captained by Gareth Southgate appeared to be missing the cutting edge going forward that made them so devastatingly effective against Iran earlier this week. There were brief glimpses of what they were capable of doing on occasion, but unfortunately "occasion" was the key word here.

To try and turn the tide of the game, England relied on players like Liverpool's Jordan Henderson, Manchester City's Jack Grealish, and Manchester United's Marcus Rashford; however, their efforts were fruitless. A number of supporters have voiced their displeasure with Southgate after the game's conclusion, stating that he should have substituted Phil Foden.

It is true that the City midfielder is one of the most exciting prospects for the Three Lions, and it is also true that his ability to create is quite remarkable. It's possible that England made a mistake by deciding to bench him in the first place.

However, bringing Rashford on was not in any way the wrong decision; rather, it was a matter of poor timing on the coach's part. At about the half-hour mark, it became obvious that England required some sort of adjustment to their strategy.

The United States of America had a very strong organizational structure, making it extremely challenging to find a gap in their rock-solid defense. After the heroics that he displayed on Monday, Bukayo Saka was not having the effect that was desired, and the game was begging for Rashford to enter the fray.

The fact that he was even brought into the game with only 12 minutes of regular time left was a mind-boggling decision. If you want a player to make an impact, you should give them at least 30 minutes to get into the swing of things in the game. Rashford, however, demonstrated that he can be an exception to this rule when England played Iran in their first game of the tournament.

The substitution of Rashford so late in the game was not beneficial to his team, and suggestions that Foden should have been used instead of him are completely off base.

Fans of United will be able to attest to the fact that the 25-year-old has made a significant leap in his development since the previous campaign. Both his own skills as a player and Erik ten Hag's as a coach have been demonstrated by his success.

Rashford has been subjected to unfair criticism as a result of Southgate's hesitant decision-making regarding substitutions, and this is extremely disappointing. If I had been in Southgate's position, I would have tried to make some adjustments either at the half-time break or, at the very latest, at the hour mark. It would have been in everyone's best interest to give Foden, Rashford, and Grealish longer stretches of playing time.

The forward for United deserved more faith from Southgate on Friday night and has every right to feel a little let down by the Three Lions boss. Southgate's decision to not play him was a poor one.