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Marcus Rashford can make Man Utd have a change of heart

Lunes 18 de Junio del 2018

Marcus Rashford can make Man Utd have a change of heart

England play their opening World Cup 2018 game for in Russia against Tunisia tonight.

England play their opening World Cup 2018 game for in Russia against Tunisia tonight.

Hate is a strong word.

But a certain type and significant number of Manchester United supporters have only a touch more fondness for England than they do for Liverpool or Leeds.

Ahead of an evening when an England team potentially featuring Marcus Rashford , Jesse Lingard , Phil Jones and Ashley Young take on Tunisia in their World Cup opener, some Reds will have mixed feelings about getting behind the national team.

There are plenty of reasons why.

The rest of the country’s ‘anyone but United’ stance and the siege mentality nurtured by Sir Alex Ferguson and happily adopted by Jose Mourinho, combine to make many United fans somewhat less than fanatical about England.

And perceived injustices against the likes of David Beckham, persecuted by England fans after his 1998 World Cup sending-off against Argentina, the Neville brothers (just persecuted) and the criminal misuse of Paul Scholes and, to a lesser extent, Michael Carrick, by successive England managers, played their part too.

Maybe it’s just a ‘big club’ thing.

David Beckham is red-carded against Argentina in 1998. Cue hysteria.
David Beckham is red-carded against Argentina in 1998. Cue hysteria.

Many Liverpool fans feel the same way and most Reds would rather their club won another title than England blundered their way to international success.

Maybe it’s a northern thing.

Wembley for an England match can feel like a Chelsea or Arsenal home game - never a good thing - and regular chants of ‘Stand up if you hate Man U’ are hardly designed to win friends.

United fans played up to it with provocative ‘Argentina' chants in support of Carlos Tevez and Gabriel Heinze and the tone was set.

It’s never fully gone away - and maybe United fans like it that way.

Watching England is a thankless task in general. Over-hyped, then over-criticised by a London-centric press, a succession of England managers - Hoddle and Keegan to Sven and Schteve, through Capello and Hodgson and earlier - have failed to reignite the spirit of 66.

But, as another England World Cup campaign swings into action, is there a change in mood?

Maybe it's World Cup fever or just because the sun is shining (sort of), but things feel a little different.

It's a young, attacking, attractive England side and Gareth Southgate's intelligent leadership is getting the benefit of the doubt for now.

Marcus Rashford.
Marcus Rashford.

But if a bigger number of United fans do take the Three Lions to their hearts, Marcus Rashford will have a big part to play in it.

He is one of United fans' own - not just an Old Trafford hero, but a Manc and a Red.

And a likeable, talented one at that.

He goes into the tournament after scoring a cracker in the final friendly of the warm-up against Costa Rica and though he likely to start the clash with Tunisia on the bench, there is a widespread belief he can make a big impact.

If he - and his sidekick Lingard - can make the Three Lions roar, England might just turn red.

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