Since making his first team debut in February, no English player not named Wayne Rooney has been talked about more than Marcus Rashford. Ever since the teenager broke into Manchester United’s first team, all he’s done is score goals. It doesn’t matter what the competition is, Rashford is unfazed by it.
Rashford came up a month before an international break, right when England manager Roy Hodgson would be thinking about his next team. He made news when he said he was considering calling the 18-year-old up, but ultimately left him out of the squad, which was entirely the right decision at the time.
Despite missing out on the England squad, Rashford didn’t stop scoring and his name started being floated around for a place in England’s squad for Euro 2016. Immediately there were fans who tried to play down the idea, but at the end of the day Rashford deservedly earned himself a place on the squad.
Rashford ended up being scarcely used in France, despite being one of the few, if not only, English players who didn’t underperform during the tournament. When new manager Sam Allardyce took over, many expected Rashford to get an expanded role with England. Instead he was sent down to the U21s.
Allardyce insisted this wasn’t a demotion. Rather Rashford wasn’t starting for his club, and wouldn’t be starting for England so it was better for him to get games at the U21 level. At the time it seemed like the right decision, until the games were played. Rashford destroyed the U21s. He scored a hat-trick in his only game with them while England’s senior strikers Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Daniel Sturridge, and Wayne Rooney all looked impotent.
Within one game it was clear that Rashford had already outgrown the U21 level and needed to be with England’s senior squad, the question is what should his role be?
The answer to that is simple. Rashford should be starting for England – centrally.
I know there are going to be some people ready to call me a Manchester United homer but the truth is since making his debut Rashford has been England’s best and most consistent striker. He burst onto the scene unlike any striker since Wayne Rooney in 2004. The fact that were even having this discussion just shows that England actually have depth at striker now. If Rashford were doing this 12 years ago, or even four years ago, he’d be waltzing right into the starting XI.
But just because England has depth at striker doesn’t mean that Rashford isn’t deserving. Since making his debut he’s outperformed everyone.
Since @MarcusRashford's debut no English player in the @premierleague has scored more goals. https://t.co/QLdNOgI0fi #SSNHQ pic.twitter.com/qhiNppEBzd
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) September 22, 2016
That stat is from September 22nd, before Rashford made his League Cup debut (where he scored) and scored against Leicester. If you total the goals for club and country since he made his United debut Rashford has scored 17 goals, 14 if you take out the hat trick at the U21 level. In that time frame Daniel Sturridge has scored 11 for club and country, while Harry Kane has 13.
At this point you can make the argument that Rashford should be starting over any of England’s current strikers. Harry Kane has been great, but has been a shadow of his usual self since the Euro’s started. Jamie Vardy is still currently wearing an England shirt, but that’s off the merit that he earned last season, not anything he’s done this year.
Daniel Sturridge is a different case. When healthy, he’s probably England’s most talented player. The problem is Sturridge is rarely ever healthy. For England to push all their chips in the middle behind Sturridge would be like the US always counting on Jozy Altidore to not be injured in a big tournament. It’s just not likely.
Rashford on the other hand just keeps playing. Whether it’s on the left or in the middle. Whether its for the U21s or for England at the Euros, the situation doesn’t seem to effect him. He just goes out there, challenges defenders, and plays. That kind of confidence can’t be underestimated.
In international soccer when you’re not playing a lot of games, confidence is everything. You need to ride with the players that have it and over the past six months no English player has had more of it than Rashford.
