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