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.