Marcus Rashford is a marvel… how the hell does Jose Mourinho not rate the Manchester United and England starlet?
PRETTY soon, it seems, we’re going to be marvelling at Marcus Rashford the way we marvel at Mo Salah and Kevin De Bruyne.
And we’ll be asking ourselves the same simple question: ‘How the hell didn’t Jose Mourinho rate this bloke?’
Gareth Southgate’s England are playing with a sense of adventure and a spirit of imagination which offers cautious optimism for their journey to Russia.
And at Elland Road last night no player embodied that positivity more than Rashford – a man who rarely gets a start for Manchester United but is playing his way into the centre of England’s World Cup plans.
Sure it was only a friendly and it was only Costa Rica (although the Central Americans topped England’s Group of Death at the last World Cup).
But if these run-outs are to mean anything – and Southgate had been adamant that they do – then Rashford must have laid down a powerful claim to start England’s tournament opener against Tunisia in Volgograd on Monday week.
It was not just Rashford’s jaw-dropping opener – a sumptuous dipping effort that left Real Madrid’s keeper Keylor Navas gawping up at the ball like an astonished yokel viewing his first aeroplane.
No, it was his own personal highlights reel of passing and movement, of soft-shoe footwork and cunning feints, which smacked of a kid enjoying his football after suffering frustration under Mourinho.
MAKING A MARC England 2 Costa Rica 0: Marcus Rashford’s stunning strike sends Three Lions off to World Cup in style
So often in the past it has been different. So often English players have excelled at their clubs only to be weighed down by the apparent burden of wearing three lions on their shirts.
Yet under Southgate, England’s Dr Feelgood, the reverse is true for many players.
When Danny Rose talked bravely of suffering from depression after a series of personal traumas, he described the England set-up as his ‘salvation’ after a tough season at Tottenham.
Suddenly, England have been winning at press conferences and media interviews, making friends and influencing people.
But that approach doesn’t really matter very much unless it translates into performances and results.
It’s long been assumed that the buttoned-up stressed-out paranoia which has engulfed England at tournaments over much of the past 20 years has not been beneficial to on-field performance.
Southgate’s enlightened attitude has at least given them the chance to test out that theory - by allowing us to see what a relaxed England actually looks like.
Those close to Rose believe he will feel ‘a stone lighter’ by having discussed his depression and family traumas openly – and he was uninhibited last night, even if he did not make a completely compelling case to replace Ashley Young as England’s starting left-back.
Such a high-profile sportsman discussing his mental health problems was encouraging those in other walks of life to do the same yesterday.
Rose’s late uncle – described as an outwardly cheerful man, much loved by his nephew – had taken his own life last year.
And it is no exaggeration to suggest that Rose’s honesty might indirectly help to save the lives of others.
Other players might shrink away from being so candid and, of course, that’s their right too.
The Southgate approach is all about grown-ups treating other grown-ups like grown-ups.
In most walks of life, that would be obvious and normal. In English professional football, it feels revolutionary.
Road to Russia
QUALIFYING RESULTS
04/09/16 Slovakia A 1-0
08/10/16 Malta H 2-0
11/10/16 Slovenia A 0-0
11/11/16 Scotland H 3-0
26/03/17 Lithuania H 2-0
10/06/17 Scotland A 2-2
01/09/17 Malta A 4-0
04/09/17 Slovakia H 2-1
05/10/17 Slovenia H 1-0
08/10/17 Lithuania A 1-0
TOP SCORERS
5 Harry Kane
2 Adam Lallana
2 Daniel Sturridge
MOST APPEARANCES
9 Joe Hart
9 Kyle Walker
8 Gary Cahill
And the off-field stuff which has earned the FA a lot of plaudits this week really did seem to have been carried into an atmospheric Elland Road – especially early on.
Even before Rashford’s 13th-minute corker, there was a brilliant back-heel from Ruben Loftus-Cheek, a Cruyff turn from Rose, some sleight of foot from Rashford which bamboozled a Costa Rican defender.
If Rashford is to start against Tunisia, it would have to be in place of Raheem Sterling in the No 10 role behind Harry Kane.
And that would be a brave call given the Manchester City man’s club form as well as a couple of fine displays in England’s March friendlies.
But at times last night, Rashford must have looked an irresistible option to Southgate.
The manager had made ten changes from Saturday’s narrow win over Nigeria.
Jordan Henderson produced some telling passes from deep and did himself no harm in his tussle to start ahead of Eric Dier as England’s anchor man.
Trent Alexander-Arnold was composed on debut. And Loftus-Cheek again showed glimpses of a special talent which will surely feature in Russia, whether he starts or comes off the bench.
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Of course no one is getting too carried away, especially as things became more laboured in the second half, before Danny Welbeck headed in a cross from fellow sub Dele Alli.
England won’t win the World Cup and they might not beat any major nations in Russia.
But they can reach the quarter-finals without doing that and, after their dismal failures of the past decade, they are at least showing signs of something better.
It no longer feels like quite such a chore having to watch England – and much of that is because it no longer appears such a chore for Englishmen to play international football.
At times, it almost seems as if they are actually enjoying themselves.