Rashford double sparks England
Marcus Rashford dropped to his knees and pointed up to the sky.
The England forward had just scored against Wales at the World Cup, 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 tournament.
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.
Ever 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 team-mate Bukaya Saka, both of them Black, were racially abused after missing their penalties in the shootout.
‘‘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 left 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 in off the bench.
The lineup changed for the final Group B match against Wales, and both Rashford and Foden took advantage of their time on the field.
Rashford put England in the lead with a freekick 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.
Wales, who were playing at the World Cup for the first time in 64 years, finished last in the group and were eliminated.
Veteran Wales captain Gareth Bale, 33, said he had no thoughts about ending his Wales career.
Wales start Euro 2024 qualifying against Croatia in Split on March 25.
‘‘I’ll keep going as long as I can and as long as I’m wanted,’’ he said.
‘‘Everyone’s disappointed but we’re all proud of what we’ve achieved to get here,’’ Bale said after the match.
‘‘We have to look how far we’ve come. If you’d told us two years ago that we would play in a World Cup, we’d have all pinched ourselves.’’