Playing for England at Old Trafford will be a “special moment” for Marcus Rashford, Gareth Southgate has said. England face North Macedonia this evening hoping to make it four wins from four in Euro 2024 qualifying.
This is the last game of a prolonged season but it will be one for Rashford to cherish. He will make his first start for his country since scoring twice at the World Cup last December against Wales.
Prior to a 30-minute cameo in Friday’s 4-0 triumph in Malta, the Manchester United forward last featured in a qualifier in November 2019, when he scored against Kosovo.
There were questions about Rashford’s commitment to England having missed five of the last seven non-tournament squads — including the meet-up in March when he flew to New York despite having withdrawn because of injury.
However, Southgate was dismissive of the notion that Rashford is unsure about his England career. “We’ve talked to the players about commitment being an important factor over the next 18 months,” Southgate said.
“The more players that are here, they can hear the messages from the games that we play. So I think Marcus is pleased that he has been able to work with our medical team and make a lot of progress in this period of time.”
Being absent from previous camps, largely due to injury, has meant Rashford’s international career has been ‘stop-start’, and he has — unlike Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka — not yet nailed down a forward place in the front three.
“He [Rashford] obviously had the World Cup with us and we were constantly talking through that period,” Southgate said.
“I’ve had him since he was in the Under-21s really. We’ve always had good communication, I know him as well as anybody is going to know him. He’s not always easy to read. He does love playing for England, he’s very proud to play for England and I’m sure an England game at Old Trafford will be a special moment for him.”
'The depth means players must deliver'
Southgate is preparing for the match against North Macedonia, who England have never beaten on home soil, with a full squad at his disposal. Although Jude Bellingham and Lewis Dunk had to withdraw from the squad because of injury, those present are ready for one last game of a mammoth season.
The virtues of playing these internationals this deep into the summer are often debated but the England manager places great value in being able to spend some time with his players and assess where they are at given the increasing depth of talent at Southgate’s disposal.
“Everybody asks: ‘Do you know your best team?’ But we never have everybody available so it is also [about] what is your best team at any given moment because form can dictate that, level of fitness can dictate that,” he said.
“You always have an idea of where you would like to go if everybody is available and everybody is playing well. We’re fortunate that we have got some depth so that people have to keep delivering and have to keep producing because the best team in the last camp might not be the best team in the next one.”
Hence, the England team continues to evolve, with the deployment of Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield being particularly eye-catching on Friday. Southgate would not be drawn on whether the Liverpool right back will start this evening but insisted he saw enough to persist with plans to use him as a No 8 at international level.
“I won't hesitate to play him there again", Southgate said. “Of course, we should always be mindful of the opposition but the quality of the play is the quality of the play and lesser-quality players couldn’t have produced that even against a lower opponent.
“He did everything we hoped he would do and maybe a little bit more in the pressing and the intensity and the adaptation. We were very happy with him.”
