Roy Hodgson's romantic selection of Marcus Rashford could define his England reign

Marcus Rashford’s season began in a team that featured a couple of trialists. It may end in the Euro 2016 final, perhaps against champions Spain or World Cup winners Germany. His inclusion in England’s 26-man provisional squad is a sign a shooting star’s ascent grows more remarkable.

It is nine months since his campaign kicked off in Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion. Not at senior level, either, but in the Under 18s. It is less than three since his startling first-team bow. A fine finisher has taken chances he was not expected to be afforded. Louis van Gaal, who knew little about Rashford before his two-goal debut against Midtjylland, has got lucky: that fortune may also benefit Roy Hodgson. Rashford ranked behind Will Keane in the queue for striking berths at Old Trafford in February. He was promoted when Anthony Martial was injured in the warm up. He has gone from unknown to indispensable for United, from futuristic figure to a candidate for the current England.

He has only one Under-20 cap, none at Under-21 level. A speedy striker has been fast-tracked. Even the often conservative Hodgson has been captivated by the 18-year-old. Rashford’s precocity has been allied with a maturity of movement, some inventive touches and, as the youngest scorer in a Premier League Manchester derby, a capacity to excel on the major stage. He may owe his place in Hodgson’s plans to Danny Welbeck’s knee injury, but he has profited from others’ unforeseen absences already.

Hodgson described him as “a contender”. If five out-and-out forwards is one too many for the final party, he may be the outsider. Yet if Wayne Rooney, who transparently lacks Rashford’s dynamism in attack, is rebranded as a midfielder, then another opening is presenting itself. If he is heralding the beginning of the end for Rooney the striker for both club and country, he will be a still more transformative teenager.

His is the most astonishing emergence in English football since, well, Theo Walcott, whose omission shows that prodigies do not always realise their potential. A decade on from his extraordinary inclusion in the 2006 World Cup squad, Walcott still has not started a game in a major international tournament. Perhaps he never will.

Walcott, who was yet to make his Arsenal debut, represented a punt by Sven-Goran Eriksson a decade ago. Rashford, with seven goals in 17 games for United, has offered more evidence of his aptitude at higher levels. The other common denominator is that both were chosen at the expense of the luckless predator Jermain Defoe. It is a microcosm of Hodgson’s preference for youth over experience. Enter the emerging, exit the tried and trusted. Only Rooney, half a decade younger than Steven Gerrard, Ashley Cole and John Terry, can be bracketed alongside the discredited “Golden Generation”.

Instead we have Roy’s Boys. Some – Rashford and Dele Alli in particular – certainly can be classed as boys. Plenty of others lend a distinctly Hodgson-esque flavour. He first picked Jamie Vardy when the forward had a mere five top-flight goals to his name. He signed Chris Smalling for Fulham in 2008. Adam Lallana, John Stones, Ryan Bertrand, Tom Heaton: there are plenty of the clean-cut, prefect-material types Hodgson likes to keep the odd rogue in order.

Many a team that has prospered at tournaments has been propelled forward by those who arrived, Rashford-style, with impetus and momentum. Andros Townsend, both an in-form player and a Hodgson favourite, qualifies on two grounds. Picking Jack Wilshere, despite just 141 minutes of football this season, ranked as no surprise. Nor did the choice of Jordan Henderson, even though he has only featured for 26 minutes in five weeks.

Hodgson tends to be a loyalist, although the thirty-somethings may not agree. Hodgson said Michael Carrick’s omission was the toughest: it means he will not become the first outfield player since Stanley Matthews to have a 15-year England career. His fall feels a by-product of Leicester’s unexpected surge. Danny Drinkwater looks a more athletic option at the base of the midfield. Most of the stalwarts from the qualifiers are present, however. Fabian Delph’s efforts, especially against Switzerland, earn him a spot, although he seems the likeliest to miss the cut if Henderson and Wilshere are fit. Two others must go. They cannot be goalkeepers or midfielders, meaning Rashford’s Euro 2016 could be over before it actually begins.

A fourth centre-back often goes unused – think of Martin Keown in the 2002 World Cup, Jamie Carragher in Euro 2004 and Phil Jagielka in Euro 2012 – and now the Evertonian has the same status, but a summer on the sofa instead. Like Leighton Baines, he can testify that playing in Roberto Martinez’s back four has a damaging effect on a defender’s England prospects. Their international days now feel over, a sad end for fine servants whose only tournament football came in the 2014 World Cup.

Hodgson’s boldness backfired a little then, England’s enterprising start against Italy nonetheless leading to defeat and then an early exit. His dullness brought a quarter-final spot in Euro 2012. But, once again, Hodgson has showed a sense of adventure that feels incongruous. He has been caught up in the romance of Rashford’s rise. One way or another, it may be a decision that defines his reign as England manager.