REEL DEAL IN RASH
WORLD CUP QUALIFIER ACTION England have superstar striker in the making
Belarus v Holland (7.45pm) ............................... Bulgaria v France (7.45pm) ................................ Sweden v Luxembourg (5pm) ........................... France v Belarus (7.45pm) ................................. Luxembourg v Bulgaria (7.45pm) ...................... Holland v Sweden (7.45pm) ...............................
P W D L F A Pts France .................. 8 5 2 1 15 5 17 Sweden ................ 8 5 1 2 18 7 16 Holland ................ 8 4 1 3 16 11 13 Bulgaria ............... 8 4 0 4 13 17 12 Luxembourg ........ 8 1 2 5 7 17 5 Belarus ................ 8 1 2 5 4 16 5
Latest results: Andorra v Portugal (7.45pm) ............................. Faroe Islands v Latvia (5pm) ............................. Switzerland v Hungary (7.45pm) ....................... Hungary v Faroe Islands (7.45pm) .................... Latvia v Andorra (7.45pm) ................................. Portugal v Switzerland (7.45pm) .......................
P W D L F A Pts Switzerland .......... 8 8 0 0 18 3 24 Portugal ............... 8 7 0 1 28 4 21 Hungary ............... 8 3 1 4 11 9 10 Faroe Islands ....... 8 2 2 4 4 15 8 Andorra ................ 8 1 1 6 2 17 4 Latvia ................... 8 1 0 7 3 18 3
Latest results: Azerbaijan (0) ............ 1 Northern Ireland (0) ..1 San Marino (0) ........... 0 Czech Republic (1) .. 2 Germany (2) ............. 3 Norway (4) ................ 8 Czech Republic v San Marino (7.45pm) ............ Germany v Azerbaijan (7.45pm) ........................ Norway v Northern Ireland (7.45pm) .................
P W D L F A Pts (Q) Germany ........ 9 9 0 0 38 3 27 N IRELAND .......... 9 6 1 2 17 5 19 Czech Republic...9 3 3 3 12 10 12 Norway ................. 9 3 1 5 16 16 10 Azerbaijan ........... 9 3 1 5 9 14 10 San Marino .......... 9 0 0 9 2 46 0
Results: Armenia (1) ................ 1 Montenegro (0) .......... 0 Romania (2) ............... 3 Poland (3) ................. 6 Denmark (1) .............. 1 Kazakhstan (0) ......... 1 Denmark v Romania (5pm) ................................ Kazakhstan v Armenia (5pm) ............................ Poland v Montenegro (5pm) ..............................
P W D L F A Pts Poland .................. 9 7 1 1 24 12 22 Denmark .............. 9 6 1 2 19 7 19 Montenegro ......... 9 5 1 3 18 8 16 Romania .............. 9 3 3 3 11 9 12 Armenia ............... 9 2 0 7 9 25 6 Kazakhstan .......... 9 0 2 7 5 25 2
Group F England (0) ................ 1 Slovenia (0) .............. 0 Malta (1) ..................... 1 Lithuania (0) ............. 1 Scotland (0) ............... 1 Slovakia (0) ............... 0 Lithuania v England (5pm) ................................. Slovakia v Malta (5pm) ....................................... Slovenia v Scotland (5pm) .................................
P W D L F A Pts (Q) ENGLAND ...... 9 7 2 0 17 3 23 SCOTLAND .......... 9 5 2 2 15 10 17 Slovakia ............... 9 5 0 4 14 7 15 Slovenia ............... 9 4 2 3 10 5 14 Lithuania .............. 9 1 3 5 7 19 6 Malta .................... 9 0 1 8 3 22 1
Results: Italy v FYR Macedonia (7.45pm) ........................ Liechtenstein v Israel (7.45pm) ......................... Spain v Albania (7.45pm) ................................... Albania v Italy (7.45pm) ...................................... Israel v Spain (7.45pm) ....................................... FYR Macedonia v Liechtenstein (7.45pm) ........
P W D L F A Pts Spain .................... 8 7 1 0 32 3 22 Italy ...................... 8 6 1 1 19 7 19 Albania ................. 8 4 1 3 10 9 13 Israel .................... 8 3 0 5 9 14 9 FYR Macedonia...8 2 1 5 10 14 7 Liechtenstein ...... 8 0 0 8 1 34 0
Latest results: Bosnia-Herzegovina v Belgium (5pm) .............. Cyprus v Greece (7.45pm) ................................. Gibraltar v Estonia (5pm) ................................... Belgium v Cyprus (7.45pm) ............................... Estonia v Bosnia-Herzegovina (7.45pm) .......... Greece v Gibraltar (7.45pm) ...............................
P W D L F A Pts (Q) Belgium ......... 8 7 1 0 35 3 22 Bosnia-Herz ......... 8 4 2 2 19 8 14 Greece ................. 8 3 4 1 11 5 13 Cyprus ................. 8 3 1 4 8 12 10 Estonia ................. 8 2 2 4 6 17 8 Gibraltar ............... 8 0 0 8 3 37 0
Latest results:
HARRY KANE has turned to a diet of fish in a bid to take his game to the next level.
But when it comes to raw talent and superstar earning potential, Marcus Rashford is off the scales.
England and Manchester United have landed a genuine whopper in the shape of Rashford.
Now we wait with bated breath to discover if the teenage sensation can swim in the deep and dangerous waters of a World Cup.
The excitement surrounding Rashford is reminiscent of the feeling we had when Michael Owen burst onto the international scene in such spectacular fashion at the 1998 World Cup in France.
Like it used to be with Owen, when the ball lands at Rashford’s dazzling feet supporters rise from their seats.
Kane is an exceptional finisher and clinical in front of goal – as he showed again when poking home England’s dramatic injury-time winner to book their ticket to Russia next summer.
But we’ve had lots of those players before in the shape of Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney, to name but a few.
Rashford is different. He has that old-fashioned appetite for taking opponents on and leaving them for dead.
Here against Slovenia in England’s penultimate World Cup qualifier, Rashford made a mug of visiting right-back Aljaz Struna the first two times he touched the ball.
It was almost cruel to watch as the teenager, who doesn’t turn 20 until Halloween, provided a living nightmare for someone eight years his senior.
Major tournaments have come and gone in which England’s lions have failed to bare their teeth and shrunk into the shirt.
Yet Rashford appears to be a modern phenomenon who bucks the recent trend, someone who grows the bigger the stage he finds himself on.
Burden
Not even the scars of Euro 2016 and England’s infamous meltdown against Iceland have hindered his ambition and progress.
But with huge talent comes huge expectation and the biggest burden for Rashford might just be the fact that he’s English.
It’s tradition to build up new and rare talents and there’s nothing he can do about that as, the sad truth is, we are poor at football and need a beacon of light to guide us through the endless darkness. One glance at the team reveals a predictable line-up of mediocre defenders and plodding midfielders.
The sparse sprinkling of the stardust comes at the tip of the team in the shape of Kane, who again proved England’s late, late saviour, and Rashford.
We need something – or someone – to cling to heading to Russia. We need that slim hope that we have someone who might just take us deep into a tournament for once.
That someone appears to be Rashford.
Earlier this week Rashford sat down with a group of journalists and spoke about how his life had changed now he is one of the most recognisable faces in the world of football.
He revealed how becoming famous had made him more careful about the company he now keeps.
But he needn’t worry too much, as at this rate he will be hanging around on billboards with the likes of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe next summer.
Time will tell if Rashford’s name deserves to be up alongside the best, but we have to hope it does – for our sakes as well as his. Because otherwise what else is there to look forward to?
JEREMY CROSS