The Goalden Generation
RASHFORD GETS BALL ROLLING ON NEW ERA
MARCUS RASHFORD hopes his England fairy tale has only just begun.
Rashford is the toast of English football after scoring the winner to sink Slovakia at Wembley on Monday night and fire Gareth Southgate’s men to within touching distance of World Cup qualification. The Manchester United striker wrote another memorable chapter in his startling rise with a blistering second-half goal. It was the teenager’s first competitive strike for the Three Lions in his 11th appearance and enhances his growing reputation as a truly special talent. England need just two more points from their final qualifiers against Slovenia and Lithuania to secure their place at Russia 2018. Barring injury, Rashford is guaranteed to be on the plane, when he will look to prove himself on the biggest stage of all. It remains to be seen if the 19-year-old can handle the burden of being England’s best chance for success. But Rashford is confident Southgate is building a young side capable of bringing the feel-good factor back. He said: “When there is no sign of improving, then, that’s when you have real problems. “But hopefully we can be together for years and years and what we’re doing now is just the start of the story of everything. “We could be talking about much greater things in the future, for the players and obviously for the fans. That’s what we all want.
“You have to get the right balance, but we’re young.
“Provided we all stay together and work on relationships off the pitch to make us better on it, then hopefully it can bring out the best in us.”
Rashford only made his Premier League debut 18 months ago – scoring twice in United’s 3-2 home win over Arsenal – but has never looked back.
His stunning impact at United earned him a shock call-up to the England squad for Euro 2016 and he is now one of the first names on Southgate’s list when he chooses his squads.
Dream
But Rashford is refusing to let stardom go to his head, though he admits scoring at Wembley is a dream come true and could make the adjustment for his family even more difficult to cope with.
He said: “It’s a special moment and obviously one that I will keep with me for a long time.
“You don’t start to think about England until you are a bit older, maybe 15 or 16 and playing in the youth teams.
“That is when you start to dream about moments like this, but when you dream it’s never the same as when you are out there.
“It’s not really affecting me (all the
attention). It’s strange for my family and stuff and it’s something they are having to get used to.
“It’s a proud moment for them. My family have dreamed of it for as long as I have, so it’s a proud moment for us all.”
Rashford watched the last World Cup in Brazil while on holiday with his brothers in Dubai.
It was one of the worst on record for England as Roy Hodgson’s flops flew home in disgrace, having crashed out of the group stages with a game to spare.
Rashford got a first taste of failure himself following last summer’s defeat to Iceland in Nice and is determined to do whatever he can to make amends and give long-suffering fans something to smile about again.
He added: “You never want to experience losing a tournament and it was a difficult one to take. But hopefully we can learn from it and hopefully next time round we will do better.
“That is why people play football. We want to get the rewards.
“We want to put smiles on people’s faces. When you work hard, you get your rewards and that is what it’s all about.”