With the World Cup in extra time, a footballer awaits them at the English camp in Al Wakrah, south of Doha, full of expectation and the rare hope that it will end in a penalty shoot-out. Marcus Rashford (Manchester, 25 years old) doesn’t see the tie breaks as torture or as a lottery, but as an opportunity to make amends: “These are great moments that I’ve always felt comfortable with,” he said these days. “Hopefully we still have a penalty in the tournament. I’m waiting for it”.
Rashford, England’s top scorer in Qatar with three goals, still has a score to settle with the tiebreakers. In the final of the last European Championship, he was one of the three Englishmen who missed his shot in the Wembley final. All three suffered waves of racist attacks on social media. For the Manchester United striker, that storm piled on top of two others he’d already dived into.
During the lockdown, he had launched a campaign to provide food to thousands of children who depended on free meals from the public school, which was closed due to the pandemic. That made him a hero to many, but also brought him under the scrutiny of the Boris Johnson government, who targeted the player with his criticism. In addition to this public feud and the thousands of children he has helped, Rashford has struggled with a stress fracture in a vertebra. And later with another shoulder injury that brought him to the Eurocup under very precarious conditions.
The penalty at Wembley completed the tidal wave but also ushered in a costly comeback in Qatar. In the first game against Iran, Rashford came on in the 71st minute for Bukayo Saka, who also missed his penalty. After 43 seconds he had already made it 4-0.
United and international team-mate Harry Maguire has seen him rise: “The most important thing is to try and regain confidence in your game,” he said a few days ago. “Last year was difficult for him but all the good players get up.”
Reconstruction began in the neighborhood. Born in Manchester, Rashford started playing football on the fields of the Soccer Dome, less than four miles from Old Trafford. Weeks after the Wembley fiasco and insults, he returned to the fields of his childhood with some of his then-friends, including academy team-mate Ravel Morrison.
That’s where the sentimental repair began, to which coach Gareth Southgate also contributed: “I was with him in the summer and talked to him for a long time. I was very clear on some ideas to think about,” he said. “He was happy with his club this year and you could see that in training with us. We have a completely different version of the player than in the Eurocup. It is great.”
It didn’t just adjust the head. Physically, he looks better than ever. During the summer, he spent six days at Nike’s Oregon headquarters doing strength work in sneakers and undergoing scrutiny from the innovation department. They stuffed him with sensors and gutted his running technique to find a way to hone it. He spent his afternoons sprinting up a 200-meter ramp and working on the finish. In the prime minister’s first few days before the World Cup break, Rashford already had four goals and two assists, the most of the previous season.
In Qatar, he finally started in the third game against Wales and left one of his best afternoons with the national team, where he was the player who has created the most danger so far. With the score at 0-0, England had a free-kick and Rashford took charge. A powerful and accurate shot that surprised Ward. He celebrated on his knees, arms raised and pointing to the sky. In that moment of liberation, Rashford recalled one of his supporters: “I lost a friend of mine a few days ago,” he said. “He’s had a pretty long battle with cancer. I’m glad I scored for him. He was a great support and a great friend. I liked that he showed up in my life.”
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