Record breaker Marcus Rashford presses claim for a place in England's Euro 2016 squad as Roy Hodgson prepares to name final cut

1/14
James Olley27 May 2016

Marcus Rashford pressed his claims to make England’s Euro 2016 squad with a dream goalscoring debut as Roy Hodgson’s side beat Australia 2-1 at the Stadium of Light.

Rashford fired a volley past goalkeeper Mathew Ryan with less than three minutes on the clock to become England’s third youngest goalscorer in history.

Records tumble almost whenever Rashford plays these days; he is the youngest play ever to score on his England debut and, remarkably, has now struck with his first shot in the Europa League, Premier League and in senior international football.

Rashford’s goal came with his fourth touch of the game and although he was unable to make the most of several promising opportunities thereafter, he played with a confidence and swagger that will only enhance his case to make the final 23 when Hodgson confirms the list on Tuesday.

England were not entirely convincing once again – substitute Eric Dier’s 75th minute own goal was due reward for the threat Australia posed – but they continue in a winning habit ahead of Thursday’s last warm-up game against Portugal at Wembley.

Daniel Sturridge was not even fit enough to be named on the substitutes’ bench due to an ongoing calf problem - raising doubts about his availability for the tournament – and Hodgson opted to pair Rashford and Raheem Sterling in a two-man attack.

England started with a midfield diamond comprising Jack Wilshere at the base, Danny Drinkwater and Jordan Henderson left and right with Adam Lallana at the tip.

Both sides looked suspect defensively but England did their best to unnerve Australia by pressing and harrying from kick-off. Rashford’s mere inclusion on the teamsheet had raised anticipation prior to kick-off and there was a wait of just 135 seconds for the moment so many people came to see.

Player Ratings: How England performed in their Euro 2016 warm-up matches

1/27

Rashford played Sterling into space on the left and his cross took a deflection which looped invitingly towards back towards his strike-partner. It was a difficult finish to execute but Rashford’s strike, Ryan at his near post, brimmed with a conviction far beyond his years.

It did not set the tone for a commanding England performance, however. Just as in last Sunday’s win over Turkey, England looked frail at the back on the sporadic occasions Australia were able to apply pressure.

On one such opportunity 15 minutes in, England won the ball back and broke at pace. Wilshere fed Sterling who in turn played the ball into space for Rashford to burst on to.

Rashford later played a clever, sharp pass into Lallana’s feet. He turned inside the six-yard box and fired a low, left-footed effort at goal but Ryan spread himself to save well.

Australia probed for an equaliser but failed to force Fraser Forster into a meaningful save prior to the break. For the restart, Hodgson introduced Rooney and James Milner for Wilshere and Lallana, switching to 4-3-3 – the alternative shape England have worked on since the 2014 World Cup.

Rooney played as a centre-forward – remember the days when that didn’t seem a little unusual? – and within nine minutes he had his reward.

Rashford turned smartly and Sterling burst clear down the left before playing an excellent pass to Rooney, unmarked 25 yards out. The 30-year-old took one touch and set himself before lashing the ball high into the roof of the net for his 52nd international goal.

Rashford was withdrawn just after the hour mark to a rousing ovation and a firm handshake from Hodgson, who must now give serious consideration to taking a player to a major tournament who only made his senior club debut on February 25.

Chris Smalling appeared to walk off holding his hamstring as he was replaced by Dier, who has barely at centre-back for more than a year, and his rustiness manifested itself in an embarrassing own goal, heading substitute Milos Degenek’s cross past Forster.

Andros Townsend and Ross Barkley were given brief cameos – the former impressed and the latter didn’t – while Tom Heaton was handed his debut as an 87th minute replacement for Forster.

Rashford watched the rest of the game from the bench but he had done enough to win the official man of the match award, giving Hodgson plenty of food for thought.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in