Pele: England star Marcus Rashford must “trust himself” to cope with big pressure at Euro 2016
Brazilian legend Pele has handed England sensation Marcus Rashford a vital piece of advice, telling the teenager to believe in himself at the European Championships this summer.
Rashford has had a whirlwind 2016 so far, having only made his debut for Manchester United in late-February in the Europa League against FC Midtjylland
He scored twice in that knockout tie, hitting the back of the net with his first shot, while he repeated that same feat against Arsenal in the Premier League just a few days later.
Finishing the season with eight goals in all competitions for United saw him make England’s 23-man Euro 2016 squad, and after scoring with his first shot for the Three Lions last week against Australia, Pele – who won the World Cup when he was 17 – has handed him some advice.
“Today it doesn’t matter about age. It is important to be prepared. But never, never, never be afraid. I wish him the same luck that I had in my life,” Pele said, via the Mirror.
“There is big pressure but I think he has to have confidence and trust himself.”
Pele won the World Cup three times as a player for Brazil, starting in 1958 when he was just 17 years old. He shot to stardom with an incredible overhead kick in that tournament and never looked back, lifting it for the third and final time in 1970
Rashford will hope to one day hit the same heights as the great Brazilian but, for now, he’s only just starting out at international level, and will be looking to make some sort of impact at the Euros later this month.