It’s Rash, bang, wallop as England march on
Three and easy: Rashford and Foden star as Three Lions maul Dragons, top group
Marcus Rashford dropped to his knees and pointed up to the sky. The England forward had scored against Wales at the World Cup yesterday, starting off a 3-0 victory that sent his team into the round of 16.
His celebration, he said, was in tribute to a friend who recently passed away after a long battle with cancer. It could have also been in celebration of working his way into the starting lineup in Qatar.
“Moments like this, this is what I play football for. The biggest moments, the best moments,” said Rashford, who started his first game of the Cup. “I’m happy we are going through to the next round of the tournament because I have massive ambitions for this team and I think we can play even better than we did.”
Rashford scored two goals at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, making him the co-leading scorer at the World Cup with three goals — the same as
France striker Kylian Mbappe and two others. Phil Foden, another England player who made his first start in Qatar yesterday, got the other.
Rashford played at the last World Cup in 2018 and also at the 2020 European Championship, but the 25-year-old Manchester United forward was considered to be fortunate to make England coach Gareth Southgate’s squad for this year’s tournament.
Since his miss in the penalty shootout loss to Italy in the Euro 2020 final, Rashford has been going through a turbulent period in his career, compounded by injuries. He and teammate Bukayo Saka were racially abused after missing their penalties in the shootout at Wembley Stadium.
“It has been a challenge for him,” said Southgate, who also led the team to the World Cup semifinals four years ago in Russia. “I went and saw him in the summer, had a big chat with him and he had some clear ideas on things he felt he needed to think about.
“You can see with his club there has been happiness in his performances and that has shown itself on the training ground. We have a different version [of him] completely to the Euros. That’s great for him and for us.”
In Qatar, Southgate opted to leave
Rashford and Foden on the bench in the first two matches against Iran and the United States, starting with Saka and Raheem Sterling up front alongside captain Harry Kane.
Rashford came on a substitute in the 6-2 victory over Iran and scored one of the goals. Foden played 19 minutes in that match.
Against the United States, England were held to a 0-0 draw with Rashford again coming off the bench.
Against Wales, Rashford and Foden took advantage of their time on the field.
Rashford put England in the lead with a free kick in the 50th minute, and followed it with that tribute to his late friend. Foden added the second only one minute later, and Rashford made it 3-0 in the 68th.
The win guaranteed England first place in the group. They will next face Senegal in the round of 16 on Monday.
Wales, who were playing at the World Cup for the first time in 64 years, were eliminated.
Captain Gareth Bale was a possibility to retire after the World Cup, but is set to continue.
The former Real Madrid player, 33, had to come off the field at halftime because of a hamstring injury, but Wales coach Rob Page is looking forward to having the most-capped player in his squad for the Euros.
“He wants what’s best for the team. He understands that and he knew if he had gone back out he would have probably played at about 70 per cent,” Page said. “Playing against a team like that you can’t carry anyone.
“I don’t think it will be the last time we see him in a Welsh jersey. There’s games starting again in March in the Euros [qualifying] and we want to get off to a flying start. We will see him in a jersey.”