Rashford and Wretch link up

Written by:

Tom Dean

Three Lions ace also reflects on captaincy pride and social media abuse during Lions' Den appearance

Marcus Rashford joined special guest Wretch 32 on Lions’ Den connected by EE to chat captaining his country and the fight against social injustice before serving up nothing but net in the basketball challenge.

On his 41st appearance, Rashford captained his country for the very first time and scored the winner as England beat Romania 1-0 in their final UEFA EURO 2020 preparation match.

The 23 year old became the youngest player to skipper the Three Lions since Michael Owen in 2003 and the 125th overall on what was a proud day for the Rashford family.

And to make the occasion even more special, the prolific attacker kept the news to himself so that seeing him lead the team out came as a surprise to those watching at home.

“When I found out I was buzzing,” said Rashford. “I was smiling and very happy and just proud really.

“It’s two different feelings really because when you are leading the team out all you are thinking about is winning. I think I enjoyed it before the game but I didn’t tell anyone.

“I wanted it to be a surprise for my brothers and my family so I didn’t tell them but it was an important game and we had to win.

“We’d won our last seven games so to go to a tournament winning eight games in a row is massive for the teams’ confidence.”

10 Jun 2021 47:06

Lions' Den: Episode 3

Marcus Rashford joins Josh Denzel in the Lions' Den, while Wretch 32 is another special guest

Over the last couple of years Rashford has been just as productive off the pitch as he has on it and used his platform to draw attention to and help resolve social injustice.

Recently he’s also added his name to BT’s Hope United squad, which aims to combat online hate and the misuse of social media.

“Don’t get me wrong, social media can be a great place,” he told Lions’ Den host Josh Denzel.

“But it gets overshadowed by negative people sharing negative messages. It’s something I believe the platforms can do more to stop and I think there should be bigger sanctions for people who spread negative messages on there. There are kids on there you know.

“There has to be a better way for us to stop this and hopefully through this campaign we can do that.

Joining Rashford virtually was musician Wretch 32, who wrote the song to accompany England’s squad announcement video and has previously spoken out about social injustice and his admiration for Rashford.

“It’s similar for me,” he said. “That’s why it was important for me to mention Rashford in the record because I need people to know that I respect and admire what he’s doing outside of football.”

To round off Wednesday’s episode Rashford took on the basketball challenge and earned fan Bryan a signed ball, shirt, and entry into the matchday prize draw in dramatic style, with a last-gasp bucket.

SEE RASHFORD'S ENGLAND FOOTBALL PROFILE