RASHFORD READY TO FILL ROONEY’S BOOTS
Teenage striker scores for England in stunning style
WAYNE Rooney’s international days are now behind him but Marcus Rashford offered ample evidence that he could follow in the footsteps of England’s record goalscorer with a match-winning display against Slovakia on Monday.
Almost 14 years to the day since a 17-year-old Rooney scored the first of his 53 England goals in a European Championship qualifier against Macedonia, 19-year-old Rashford bagged his first competitive strike for his country in stunning fashion.
Receiving the ball from England skipper Jordan Henderson 25m out, there was only one thought in the Manchester United striker’s head as he looked up and lashed an unstoppable low shot past Slovakia keeper Martin Dubravka in the 59th minute.
It gave England a 2-1 win that had looked unlikely when Rashford’s mistake allowed Slovakia to take a shock thirdminute lead at Wembley in the Group F World Cup qualifier.
England now look set to qualify for next year’s finals in Russia and Rashford, who is also hoping to fill Rooney’s boots at Old Trafford after his return to boyhood club Everton, will surely be a major part of manager Gareth Southgate’s plans.
“He is so mature,” Southgate, whose decision to start Rashford rather than Raheem Sterling was vindicated, said.
“The start surprised me. But he is never in awe of the occasion. He doesn’t fear anything.
“He is still a work in progress, as we saw at the beginning of the game. He is still getting stronger and his impact taking people on and getting us up the pitch is huge.
“It’s early for Marcus so we have to keep things in perspective. He is exciting.”
Livewire Rashford combined well with Harry Kane and Dele Alli on occasions and his pace and skill continually stretched Slovakia’s defence and allowed England to regain some control after a dreadful opening 35 minutes.
The strike marked his club debut last year with two goals in a Europa League tie to become United’s youngest scorer in European competition and then scored two on his Premier League debut against Arsenal days later.
He was named man of the match on Monday and was cheered as he was replaced late on. Apart from his winner, he also set up Eric Dier’s 37thminute equaliser with a corner and forced Dubravka to make a great save before half time.
Rashford’s contribution glossed over another patchy England display that would have been punished by teams with more quality than Slovakia, who now face a battle with Scotland and Slovenia to finish as runners-up and qualify for a playoff spot.
But Southgate preferred to focus on the way his side recovered their composure.
“We showed resilience and the tactical reaction on the pitch was good to see,” he said. “I’m pleased we controlled the game in the second half. They showed maturity.” – Reuters