Thursday 9 June 2016 16:51, UK
Marcus Rashford admits it does not seem real that he is in France as a member of the England squad preparing for Euro 2016.
The Manchester United striker has enjoyed a sensational five months since making his senior debut in a Europa League match in February.
The 18-year-old had been a loan target for Crewe before that game but, instead of plying his trade in League One, he rose to prominence by scoring twice against FC Midtjylland and followed that up with another double on his first Premier League appearance against Arsenal.
He went on to score eight goals in 18 first-team appearances for United to earn himself a call-up to Roy Hodgson's provisional Euro 2016 squad.
And after scoring just 138 seconds into his England debut against Australia, Rashford, who has since signed a new four-year deal at United, was included in the final 23-man squad, handing him an opportunity which he is now relishing.
Speaking at England's training base in Chantilly, Rashford told FATV: "I'm very happy to be here. I think it's a good way to end the season for me, and hopefully we get some joy in the tournament.
"It doesn't seem real, when you look back at it. [At Christmas] I was actually trying to work my way into [United's] U21s side and all of a sudden I appeared in the first team. You have to be ready when your chance comes.
"To be honest, I wasn't really thinking about the England set-up as much because obviously at United there was a lot of games coming thick and fast so all of my focus was on those games.
"At the end of the season you hear talk and stuff, but to be here now is just amazing. For it to be in my hands to go out and help the country is an amazing feeling."
Rashford was speaking alongside his Manchester United team-mate and England captain Wayne Rooney who admits he has been taken aback by his fellow striker's progress.
"Yeah, he's been great," England's all-time top scorer said. "At the time he came into the team at United, we were going through a bit of a bad period and to come into the team and take to it like he did was incredible really.
"The manager kept faith in him so he kept his place in the team and showed what he could do.
"Roy put him in the 26 and it was really down to Marcus then to show that he was capable of being in the 23, and he certainly did that after a couple of minutes, getting his first goal for England."
Rooney hopes Rashford can continue to play without freedom and fear, but he will be keeping the advice to a minimum.
"I always think that, for young lads, it's probably better to leave them and not fill them with advice - 'you should do this, you should do that'," he said. "Just let them go and play because that's what's got them to the position they're in today."
