BOYS’ BRIGADE
This lad with skinny legs was playing junior football seven months ago. Now Marcus Rashford is part of England’s youngest squad since 1958
MARCUS RASHFORD has capped a whirlwind debut season by gatecrashing England’s Euro 2016 party as Roy hodgson went for broke yesterday.
In one of the boldest England squads named for a major tournament in recent memory, Manchester United’s FA Cup winner Rashford — along with Liverpool star daniel Sturridge — made the plane to france as the manager named five strikers in his 23-man squad.
hodgson selected the youngest ever England squad to participate at a European Championship.
It will also be the youngest of all 24
From Back Page squads at Euro 2016, averaging just under 26 on the day play starts, a few days younger than Germany’s.
England have the youngest of the 552 players at the tournament in Rashford (18 and 214 days today). Next youngest will be Portugal’s Renato Sanches, two months older.
England have more players under the age of 23 than any other squad with SEVEN. No other nation will have more than five, and most have three or four. Harry Kane, Ross Barkley, Eric Dier and John Stones are all 22, while Raheem Sterling is 21, Dele Alli is 20 and Rashford 18. Hodgson hopes to harness their youthful exuberance with the experience of Wayne Rooney, Joe Hart and Gary Cahill. But there was bad news for Danny Drinkwater and Andros Townsend who, together with injured Fabian Delph, failed to make it from the provisional 26-man party. However, it is the inclusion of Rashford, who only made his senior United debut in February, that captured the imagination. Ron Jamieson, secretary and a coach at Fletcher Moss Rangers, the West Didsbury club where Rashford played from the age of six until he was nine, said: ‘You couldn’t write the script. It’s all happened for the lad. It’s a fairytale for him and a great story for our club. He’s the boy in the street with the ball dreaming of playing in the cup final. He’s had a bit of fortune and luck but no question he’s taken the bull by the horns. ‘You couldn’t wish it on a nicer boy. He’s been to one or two of our players’ houses, taken a few bits and pieces, had a cup of tea and had some pictures taken. I’d sent him a message telling him to enjoy every minute of it, and he wrote back to say thanks. Then I got pictures of him and Jesse Lingard (another Fletcher Moss old boy) celebrating with the FA Cup after United won at Wembley.’ Rashford had written: ‘Dreams do come true — we did it!’ Drinkwater and Townsend, though, both failed to make the cut and were told after training yesterday morning at Watford’s training base. They had individual meetings, which lasted around 10 minutes, with Hodgson in his hotel room. Leicester title winner Drinkwater and Townsend both took their disappointment graciously, posting messages of support to the chosen 23 on social media. Left-back Ryan Bertrand is set to miss tomorrow’s final friendly against Portugal at Wembley due to injury — but will be fit for England’s Euro 2016 opener against Russia on June 11.