112 days after making his debut for Manchester United, Marcus Rashford became England’s youngest player at a European Tournament. This is step by step how it happened:
25 FEBRUARY: SENIOR DEBUT V FC MIDTJYLLAND
With Wayne Rooney and Will Keane both sidelined, Rashford was initially named on the bench for this Europa League clash but was promoted into the starting XI with just minutes to go before kick-off following Anthony Martial’s injury in the warm-up. Undeterred, he scored twice in a superb 5-1 win.
28 FEBRUARY: TWO GAMES, FOUR GOALS
Three days later, United’s new hero retained his starting berth to make his Premier League debut against Arsenal and scored two goals in as many minutes, teeing up a dramatic 3-2 win. “This is my first game in the Premier League, so it’s been amazing and to score two is just a bonus,” he said.
3 MARCH: PLAYER OF THE MONTH
Following his heroics against Midtjylland and Arsenal, Rashford was named United’s star man for February with 55 per cent of votes cast by fans. “He’s really down to earth,” Michael Carrick told us. “He’s quite quiet at the moment, but he might come out of his shell after this!”
20 MARCH: MANCHESTER DERBY WINNER
Rashford registered his eighth appearance, against City at the Etihad Stadium, and famously scored the winning goal, skinning the helpless Martin Demichelis to finish past a shocked Joe Hart. Jesse Lingard was proud of his friend from the Academy: “He is buzzing but I was keeping him grounded.”
13 APRIL: GOAL OF THE SEASON CONTENDER
With a place in the FA Cup semi-final up for grabs, United travelled to West Ham and Upton Park for a vital sixth-round replay. Rashford scored an excellent opener in a 2-1 success, curling a shot into the top corner, and it was later nominated for the club’s Goal of the Season award.
2 MAY: YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Rashford was named the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year at the club’s awards night, as decided by Head of Academy Nicky Butt. Marcus said: “It means a lot coming from Manchester. It’s what dreams are made of when you’re born here; it was everything I was looking forward to.”
21 MAY: FA CUP FINAL SUCCESS
Marcus clinched the first major trophy of his fledgling career following United’s dramatic 2-1 win over Crystal Palace at Wembley. The 18-year-old started the game and produced a lively performance that troubled the Eagles, before a second-half injury forced his early exit.
27 MAY: FIRST ENGLAND GOAL
Roy Hodgson named Rashford in his provisional 26-man squad for Euro 2016 and gave him his England debut in the friendly against Australia. The Reds striker made an instant impact, too, by scoring after 135 seconds and he was later named in the final 23-man squad.
30 MAY: NEW UNITED CONTRACT
Rashford’s reward for such excellent form was a new contract that will keep him at United until at least June 2020, with an option to extend for a further year. “I have always been a Manchester United fan,” he said. “So to be playing in the first team really is a dream come true.”
16 JUNE: BREAKING ROONEY’S RECORD
Marcus became England’s youngest player at a European Championship with his substitute appearance in the 2-1 win over Wales. He was 18 years and 228 days old, which was crucially four days younger than when his current United team-mate Wayne Rooney set the previous record at Euro 2004.
Rashford continues to rise to the challenge and shine during each of his appearances. He is making a name for himself both with Manchester United and England. How much more will this youngster achieve in his career?
[Step by step breakdown and image from Manutd.com]
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