Rashford describes his meteoric rise

Marcus Rashford has described the surreal experience of his amazing debut season at senior level, which culminated in a place in England's Euro 2016 squad.

The 18-year-old only made his Manchester United first-team bow against Midtjylland in February but his stellar performances helped the Reds lift the FA Cup and earned him a spot in Roy Hodgson's final 23 for France. The Reds striker is the youngest player at the tournament.

Ahead of the Three Lions' Group B opener against Russia on Saturday, Rashford told FATV: "Back then [at Christmas], I was actually trying to work my way into the Under-21 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 were a lot of games coming thick and fast. 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."

Rashford scored on his full debut for his country during the recent friendly win over Australia at the Stadium of Light but is keeping his feet firmly on the ground ahead of the high-profile championship.

"To be fair, I tried not to think about it too much because that's probably where the pressure and stuff starts to get to people's heads and affect their performance," he said. "For me, I was just concentrating on playing how I'd been playing and, all of a sudden, the goal came. It's a good way to start.

"When I first went into the changing room and saw all of the players' names on the back of their shirts, it didn't seem real. I remember going home after and speaking to my brother about it, and he agreed with me - he didn't think it was real either. That's what it's like until you get used to it.

"When I was a kid I used to be doing those things myself [displaying flags in houses and cars], so for it to be in my hands to go out and help the country is an amazing feeling."