Marcus Rashford has been one of Manchester United’s best players this season and his fine form was rewarded by Gareth Southgate, who named the 25-year-old in his 26-man squad for this winter’s World Cup.
Rashford had not played for the Three Lions since that disastrous European Championship final loss to Italy in 2021 before being named on the bench in Monday’s World Cup opener against Iran.
With England cruising, Rashford was introduced in the 70th minute and scored 49 seconds after making his return to the Three Lions. Speaking after the game, he reacted to the feat.
"For me, it's been about getting my own happiness right." 💬
'I've been playing the last 2-3 years with a lot of injuries and I've not been enjoying it as much as I should have.' 🗣
Get the sound 🔛 for a must-listen interview with @MarcusRashford & @gabrielclarke05 🔊 pic.twitter.com/Rrd06lW5Mt
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) November 21, 2022
“Yeah, it’s obviously been a difficult year for me,” Rashford told ITV when quizzed on his goal and return to England. “Missed some camps through injury and obviously not been selected for some as well
“Like I said, I’m pleased to be back, pleased to be back with the boys. Enjoying training and we’ve enjoyed ourselves since we met up. It’s been a quick turnaround so we’ve not had that many sessions together but I think we’ve done good work in training and you know, it’s always good when you manage to pull that into the game.
“For me, it was just about getting my own happiness right. I believe when I’m happy, when I’m on the pitch enjoying myself, then I play good football. So yeah, I just wanted to get back to that as quickly as possible but it’s more just within yourself. It’s not really about the football, you just have to be happy as a person.”
Rashford will now be aiming to secure a starting place for this Friday’s game against the USA, with three points potentially securing top spot in the group.
