Southampton’s rising star Tyler Dibling has opened up about his “surreal” experience playing against Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford this season. The 18-year-old winger, who has made significant strides under manager Russell Martin, compared the experience to playing The Journey mode on FIFA, where players guide a young footballer through his career.
After limited first-team minutes in the Championship last season, Dibling is now a regular for Southampton in the Premier League. He spoke about how surreal it was to face Rashford, a player he had used in FIFA for years, during a match against Manchester United in September.
What Tyler Dibling Said
Dibling reflected on the experience, saying:
“Because I only played limited minutes for the club last year, I didn’t think I was going to go on and start a lot of games for the club. I was very nervous before it. It was against Manchester United as well. I felt like I was in The Journey on FIFA. It was weird. I had Rashford next to me. I’ve used him on FIFA for about five years. It was a bit surreal.”
Despite his nerves, Dibling quickly settled into the game:
“After that game, you just get used to it to be fair. I was so nervous before – I don’t usually get that nervous – but once you step on the pitch and I made that first pass, I settled. I took on [Diogo] Dalot and won a penalty. Unfortunately, Cam [Archer] missed it but it’s still a good moment.”
