AL RAYYAN, Qatar (AP) — Marcus Rashford knelt down and pointed skyward.
The English striker had just scored against Wales in the World Cup, beginning a 3-0 victory that sent his team to the round of 16.
His celebration, he said, was in tribute to a friend who recently passed away after a long battle with cancer. It could also have been to celebrate his way into the starting line-up in Qatar.
“Moments like this, this is what I play football for. The biggest moments, the best moments,” said Rashford, who started his first game of the tournament. “I’m happy that we’re going to the next round of the tournament because I have big ambitions for this team and I think we can play even better than today.”
Rashford scored twice at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, making him the World Cup’s top scorer with three goals, the same as French striker Kylian Mbappe and two others. Phil Foden, another England player who made his first start in Qatar on Tuesday, got the other.
Rashford played in the last World Cup in 2018 and also in the 2020 European Championship, but the 25-year-old Manchester United striker was considered lucky to be part of England manager Gareth Southgate’s squad for this tournament. year.
Since failing in a penalty shootout against Italy in the Euro 2020 final, Rashford has been through a turbulent period in his career, compounded by injuries. He and his teammate Bukaya Saka, both black, faced racial abuse after missing their penalties in the Wembley Stadium shootout.
“It’s been a challenge for him,” said Southgate, who also led the team to the World Cup semifinals four years ago in Russia. “I went and saw him in the summer, had a great talk with him and had some clear ideas about the things that he felt he needed to think about.
“You can tell that with his club there has been joy in his performances and that has been shown in the training camp. We have a completely different version (of him) than the Eurocup. That’s great for him and for us.”
In Qatar, Southgate opted to leave Rashford and Foden on the bench for the first two matches against Iran and USA, starting with Saka and Raheem Sterling up front alongside captain Harry Kane.
Rashford came on as a substitute in a 6–2 win over Iran and scored one of the goals. Foden played 19 minutes in that match.
Against the United States, England drew 0–0 with Rashford again as a substitute.
The line-up changed for the final Group B match against Wales, with both Rashford and Foden taking advantage of their time on the pitch.
Rashford put England in the lead with a free kick on 50 minutes, and followed it up with that tribute to his late friend. Foden added the second just a minute later, and Rashford made it 3-0 in the 68th.
The victory guaranteed England first place in the group. The team will face Senegal in the round of 16 on Sunday.
Wales, playing in the World Cup for the first time in 64 years, finished bottom of the group and were eliminated. The United States finished in second place and will then face the Netherlands, while Iran finished in third place and were also eliminated.
It may have been captain Gareth Bale’s last game for his team.
The former Real Madrid player had to leave the field at half time due to a hamstring injury, but Wales manager Rob Page said he hopes Bale will continue.
“He wants the best for the team. He understands that and he knew that if he had come back, he probably would have played about 70% of it,” Page said. “When you play against a team like that you can’t take anyone.
“I don’t think it’s the last time we’ll see him in a Wales shirt. There are games that start again in March in the Eurocup (classification) and we want to start off on the right foot. We will see him with a T-shirt”.
WAITING FOR KANE
Kane won the Golden Boot as World Cup top scorer four years ago in Russia but has yet to find the net in Qatar.
SOUTHGATE DELIVERY
Southgate is coaching England to a third major tournament, and has successfully made it past the group stage each time. England reached the semifinals at the World Cup in Russia, and then went all the way to the final at Euro 2020.
The team have not won a major trophy since their only World Cup success in 1966 on home soil.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
