I was nervous as he stepped up, due to his age and a certain fear that the media would scapegoat him if he missed, which even as a rival fan you don't want to see happen to any young player. The guy showed nerves of steel though, to walk up for his national side at the age of 20 (!!!) and take a penalty the way he did was incredibly impressive. Not many players in his age group would have the confidence to do it. Especially with all the added pressure which comes with taking a penalty for England, which I'm sure he would have been aware of. I'm a pretty big fan of his, and think a lot of the criticism levelled his way is entirely unfair. He's 20 years of age. expecting him to be anywhere near a finished product is ridiculous. Some people look at the likes of Mbappe and go 'Well he's already capable of this and this', which again is completely unfair because the likes of Mbappe or Messi are outliers in the football world, the vast majority are nowhere near ready at this age.
Look at Harry Kane, a footballer who was being loaned out pretty much anywhere who would take him. Progression isn't always linear, at his age an inconsistent season or two is absolutely to be expected. Alli has just had an off year (with still plenty of glimpses of his quality) and many immediately rush out to declare him overrated, rather than accepting the fact he's 22 years old and far from the finished product. Rashford is two years younger than even that, how many people have everything worked out at that age? The fact he's stepping up for Manchester United and England and not looking out of place is incredibly impressive. Those 2 goals against Liverpool this season, the penalty he scored yesterday .. these are the high pressure situations that many wilt under. He also seems like a really mature, likeable character, and if only for England's sake I hope he continues to develop well as I've been really impressed by him thus far.