Marcus Rashford: The England goalscorer looking to achieve both on and off the pitch

The resurgent Manchester United forward has been praised for ‘concentrating on his football’ – but that is nowhere near all he is about, writes Chris Stevenson

Marcus Rashford celebrates opening the scoring against Wales (AP)

Marcus Rashford may not start for England in the World Cup last-16 game against Senegal, in what would be his 50th appearance for his country. It is a mark of the depth of quality the team possesses in the forward positions – but there is no doubting the impact the Manchester United striker has made during the tournament.

Rashford has three goals which – going into Sunday – puts him level with Leo Messi of Argentina, Álvaro Morata of Spain, Kylian Mbappé of France, Cody Gakpo of the Netherlands and Enner Valencia of Ecuador at the top of the tournament’s goal-scoring charts. His first goal came just 49 seconds after coming off the substitute’s bench against Iran, moving past one player with a feint and then slotting the ball past the goalkeeper and a sliding defender. Against Wales, he added two more, including a fizzing free kick followed by a poignant tribute to his friend Garfield Hayward who passed away a couple of days before from cancer.

“He’s had quite a long battle with cancer, so I’m pleased I managed to score for him,” Rashford said in the post-match interview. “He’s always been a big supporter of mine. He was just a great person and I’m pleased he came into my life, really”. A typically thoughtful response from a player not afraid to raise issues that that bigger than the game of football.

Pundits have been quick to praise the 25-year-old’s recent resurgence in form, including as many Premier League goals by the end of November as he had in the entirety of the 2021-22 season. Going back to the summer of 2021, the player put off dealing with a shoulder problem so he could take part in the European Championship. England reached the final but Rashford spent the tournament mostly as a substitute and then missed in the penalty shootout as England lost to Italy. The racial abuse that followed towards Rashford and fellow Black England internationals Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho was shameful (and not the first Rashford had faced: similar abuse following a penalty miss against Crystal Palace in 2019 was decried by the then Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær). Six months ago, Rashford was dropped from the England squad. At the time, coach Gareth Southgate described the decision as “straightforward” given his form and playing time.

At points during the last 12 months, the suggestion has been floated more than once that Rashford should be concentrating on football, having campaigned around issues that strike close to home for him – free school meals and childhood literacy. Born in October 1997 in the south Manchester suburb of Wythenshawe, Rashford was one of five children. His parents Mel and Robert separated when he was young and his mother worked long hours to put food on the table. Later, Rashford would speak of the fact the family needed free school meals and relied on school breakfast clubs and help from food banks to get by at points.

It was clear that Rashford was imbued with a strong appreciation of the hard work many need to put in to support their families. “My values come from my household; the rules and the respect we had for each other. For my whole upbringing, [my mother] was the leader in that. Seeing someone living through difficult situations every single day but waking up the next morning and giving it her best go again – nothing can really top that.”

That would become clear to the public at large during the pandemic when he forced the government into not just one but two U-turns in 2020. In July he won a battle to ensure the government provided food vouchers for some of England’s poorest families during the summer school holidays. Then in November, after weeks of digging in his heels and refusing to yield to calls to extend free school meals to the winter holidays and beyond, Boris Johnson ceded to the public outcry led by Rashford. Between those dates, Rashford was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s birthday honours list for his work.

In June 2021, Marcus launched the Marcus Rashford Book Club in collaboration with Macmillan Children’s Books, with the aim of giving more children the “escapism” that reading had offered him. Rashford said at the time: “I only started reading at 17, and it completely changed my outlook and mentality. I just wish I was offered the opportunity to really engage with reading more as a child, but books were never a thing we could budget for as a family when we needed to put food on the table.”

As part of the partnership, with journalist Carl Anka he produced the non-fiction book You Are A Champion, which contained the dedication: “To every young person who is trying to find their way. To my mum, for helping me believe that dreams can come true.” A follow-up, You Can Do It, was released this summer, as well as Rashford’s first fiction book The Breakfast Club Adventures: The Beast Beyond the Fence. In an interview with The Guardian at the end of 2021, he said that the previous year or so had taught him plenty. “I learned and understood the power of my voice and my platform to support others, and to be more thankful for what I had, given how quickly it can be taken away through injury and pandemics,” he said.

Back to this current World Cup tournament, pundit and former Arsenal defender Lee Dixon said that Rashford is “concentrating on his football” while another pundit, former Manchester United defender Gary Neville, said: “He’s back on it. That period of his life through lockdown when he achieved so much off the pitch, it’s hard to focus on football.

“I think he’s simplified his life, he’s still achieving great things off the pitch but in a more measured manner, it doesn’t seem as full-on, and on the pitch, we’re now starting to see him.”

That does a disservice to Rashford, whose determination to follow his chosen career was evident early. His teachers in primary school have spoken of a polite but determined young man. Aged 11, part of a school project, he wrote: “I have one aim in life, to become a professional footballer.” Making his debut for Manchester United as an 18-year-old against the Danish side Midtjylland in the Uefa Europa League, he scored twice. He repeated the feat on his Premier League debut against Arsenal a few days later, as well as finding the net in his first derby, against Manchester City, the following month.

In more than 300 games for Manchester United, scoring 101 goals, Rashford has dealt with the expectation on his shoulders. The same is true of his 49 England appearances (bringing 15 goals). He will undoubtedly have plenty more to achieve both on and off the pitch. And nobody should doubt his determination to do his best.