MARCUS RASHFORD is aiming to follow in the footsteps of Manchester United idols Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo as he bids to make his mark at Euro 2020.
The striker will be a key part of the England side that have their sights set on the silverware under the guidance of boss Gareth Southgate this summer.
The Three Lions kick-off their campaign at home to Croatia on Sunday before facing Scotland and the Czech Republic in a section that they are expected to top.
Rashford has enjoyed another fine campaign at Old Trafford this term and he is well aware of the opportunity that lies ahead in the coming weeks.
Rashford said: "I remember Wayne Rooney playing his first Euros in 2004.
"He was only 18 and he was one of my favourite players already.
"But just watching him to there, express himself and play so freely... it's what football is all about.
"They tell you that at United. Go on the pitch to express yourself.
"Things outside the sport, whether it's anger or anxiety or whatever you are dealing with off the pitch, once you get on it just let it all out.
"For me to say Wayne perform like that, it was one of my favourite individual memories from a player in an England shirt.
"When I was younger, my biggest inspirations were Wayne and Cristiano Ronaldo.
"That was purely based on the fact that I was lucky enough to get the chance to sometimes bump into them in the corridor in the building.
"I'd watch them train and I could just see two young players who had enormous talent. Over the years, watching them at Old Trafford - they grew into animals.
"They were world-class players and when they were on their journey, it just drives you every day.
"Whatever you thought was good, you need to do better that that.
"That was my mentality and still is - and it's thanks to those boys that my brain works in that way. Those two were definitely my idols."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here