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Rob Dawsonreporter
Marcus RashfordThe team’s final kick at Wembley Stadium was a penalty missed playing for England against Italy in the European Championship final in July 2021. He returns this weekend with a chance to help Manchester United won his first silver trophy in nearly six years.
Raising the Carabao Cup will be clear evidence of United’s progress under manager Erik ten Hag, but also an opportunity for Rashford to continue his own resurgence. In the 18 months since his punishment cut the outside Gianluigi DonnarummaIn the right position, the striker had to go through the worst period of his professional career and was sacked by England.
However, on Sunday he will line up against Newcastle United Football Club at the national stadium (10:30 a.m. ET, broadcast live on ESPN+) in the form of his life and was compared (deservedly) to some of the best players in the world. He has bigger ambitions than the Carabao Cup, but just like for Ten Hag’s United, it will be more proof that things are finally going up.
“Winning trophies gives you a sense of victory and the belief that you can go on and win more titles,” Rashford told ESPN in an interview at United’s Carrington training facility. . “I think we’ve got it now and it’s a good position to be in as a player because you feel your goals and objectives are achievable.”
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Just 12 months ago, that seemed beyond his reach.
A year ago, this weekend, Rashford was left on the bench when United, under interim coach Ralf Rangnick, were held to a 0-0 draw by Watford, which would soon be relegated. In total last season, Rashford has scored five goals, and the 16 minutes he played against Watford was one of 15 appearances between January and April where he failed to score even once.
It couldn’t be more different than now. In 18 matches since returning from the World Cup, he has scored 16 goals. He’s 24 on the off-season, more than twice what he’s managed in a single campaign since his debut as a relatively unknown teenager in February 2016.
In seven years of regular first-team football, Rashford, now 25, has won FA Cup, EFL Cup and Europa League winners’ medals but there’s a feeling around Manchester that now, with Ten Hag in charge and Rashford continues all that potential, the bigger prize in Premier League And championship not far.
“We can certainly achieve more than that, but I would give the same answer if we win loads of trophies,” said Rashford. “I feel every chance to step on the pitch is an opportunity to win and at this club you can’t accept anything less. When we lose or draw, it’s not enough. good. Anyway, a draw is the same as a loss.” Every time we play, you try to win.
“I haven’t really had time to stop and look back over the past 7 years because it’s been non-stop. We play games all the time, so the most important game is always the next game, no must be the game last friday or seven years ago It’s about the next and maintaining momentum.
“I can’t get it [last season] But one thing I can do is learn from the experience and try to do everything I can to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
Sunday’s game against Newcastle will be Rashford’s sixth final for United – as long as he is declared healthy after sustaining an ankle injury against United. Barcelona – after the 2016 FA Cup final under Louis van Gaal, the 2017 EFL Cup final, the 2017 Europa League final and the 2018 FA Cup final under Jose Mourinho and the 2021 Europa League final under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer . Rashford didn’t score in any of those, but after that, he’s never scored in this form.
When asked about the change, he was quick to thank Ten Hag and his staff, especially former South Africa international striker Benni McCarthy. Technical aspects of his game such as headers have improved, but according to Rashford, the biggest change has been in his mindset.
“Football is probably 95 per cent dependent on your mentality,” he said. “For me, that’s all, that gives you the basis to come forward and perform. Without that aspect, you just play according to your ability. There are so many capable players, that’s the reason. why they play at the highest level, but what makes them different is the mentality I was on both sides of it.
“I understand the power and value of it. I’m just focusing more on keeping myself in that space and I think that’s necessary to keep winning games and titles.”
The road back to this moment is difficult.
He hasn’t played a single game completely injury-free in the best of two years from 2019 to 2021. He overcame his pain to feature for England at Euro 2020, postponed for a year. because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and almost immediately after missing the penalty in the final, he underwent surgery to repair a muscle tear in his left shoulder.
Having been recruited by England to Nations League games this past summer, he spent time training at Nike’s training facility in Oregon, waking up at 5 a.m. every morning to work out in an attempt to create good first impression with Ten Hag.
“I don’t think anyone – other than the people at the club – they don’t know how long I’ve been dealing with those issues and they probably won’t know until I tell,” added Rashford. “But it’s not just a season, it’s a period where every day is difficult and you have to make sacrifices, and I’ve always been the one trying to play as much as possible. And for me, that’s where I am. get happiness.
“If I get injured, I’m not happy, I’m dealing with pain and I’m not happy. So I’d rather try to deal with the pain as long as I can play and still help the team. I will always choose to do that.”
Finally injury-free and scoring regularly, this season has yet to be completely free of problems. In December, Rashford was dropped by Ten Hag in a match at The Wanderer Wolverhampton after he fell asleep and missed a team meeting.
Recalling the incident, he admitted: “If I were the coach, I would do the same,” but what is typical of a new and improved Rashford is when he finally comes out of the naughty step. and was sent on in the first half. substitute, he finally scored the goal.
It was a swift return to Molineux in Rashford’s comeback season. The next chapter in his redemption story will be played out at Wembley on Sunday.
