MARCUS RASHFORD celebrated his brilliant opener for England against Wales with a poignant tribute to a lost pal.<br /><br />The Three Lions ace scored twice in the 3-0 win that sent Gareth Southgate's side into the World Cup knockout stages.<br /><br />His first was a stunning free-kick from range that gave Wales keeper Danny Ward no chance.<br /><br />And Rashford celebrated the strike by kneeling down and pointing to the sky with his eyes closed.<br /><br />Speaking after the game, Rashford revealed the celebration was in honour of a friend who sadly died just days before the match.<br /><br />He said of his recent heartbreak: "Unfortunately I lost one of my friends a couple of days ago.<br /><br />"He's had quite a long battle with cancer so I'm pleased that I managed to score for him.<br /><br />"He's always been a big supporter of mine, he was just a great person that I'm pleased to have come into my life really."<br /><br />Rashford now has his eyes on World Cup glory after helping the Three Lions to victory.<br /><br />The 25-year-old claimed Southgate's side have a squad "capable of challenging" for the entire tournament.<br /><br />When asked if his goal was the happiest moment of his career, Rashford responded: "I think for me winning trophies has always been the happiest moment on the pitch for me.<br /><br />"I feel like the ambition in the squad is really good. We have a good mix of qualities.<br /><br />"We have a really good squad and a squad that is definitely capable of challenging to win the tournament.<br /><br />"I’m hoping that we can build on this type of performance, keep improving and keep scoring goals and showing our qualities."<br /><br />Skipper Harry Kane set up Phil Foden for England's second just one minute after Rashford's opener.<br /><br />Rashford then rounded off the win by netting his second in the 68th minute.<br /><br />The Manchester United ace now has three goals in just three games this World Cup.<br /><br />He is the joint top-scorer in Qatar and is in with a shot of winning the golden boot - despite starting just one game so far.<br /><br />But his performance tonight will make him hard to drop.<br /><br />Victory for the Three Lions against rivals Wales sent them through as Group B winners.<br /><br />Southgate and Co now face Senegal on Sunday in the last 16.
