Rashford gets England call to continue remarkable rise

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Three months ago, Marcus Rashford hadn’t started a game above under-19 level.

Now, he is Manchester United’s No. 1 striker and an England squad member with an outside shot at playing in the European Championship.

The 18-year-old Rashford was one of five strikers selected in England’s provisional 26-man squad on Monday ahead of Euro 2016 in France, continuing his remarkable rise from obscurity.

”Some people come from nowhere a bit quicker than others,” England coach Roy Hodgson said, ”and his has been more akin to a Wayne Rooney or Raheem Sterling rise.”

The squad will be trimmed to 23 by May 31, and Rashford is widely expected to be one of the three to miss out, considering he is competing against Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Daniel Sturridge, and captain Wayne Rooney for a spot.

But Rashford should not be underestimated. He has proven to be a young man for the big occasion, scoring twice on his United debut in a Europa League match against FC Midtjylland after answering an injury crisis, twice on his Premier League debut against Arsenal three days later, and also the winner in his first Manchester derby.

Rashford has seven goals in 16 appearances for United since February.

England has warm-up matches against Turkey, Australia and Portugal over the next three weeks. Rashford will miss the Turkey game on Sunday because United is playing in the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace a day earlier.

He’ll likely have only one friendly to stake his claim, against Australia on May 27, after …

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