The Powerchair Football World Cup

We have reconnected with England forward Marcus Harrison ahead of the 2023 Powerchair Football World Cup, to be held in Sydney, Australia from October 15-20. Marcus tells us about his achievements, the strengths of the England squad and their chances of World Cup glory.

What have been the highs and lows of your time in the England powerchair football squad? And how’s the pre-World Cup training been going?

Probably my highest point for when I’ve been playing for England is when we won the European Championships in May 2019 in Finland. We faced france the world champions in the final and beat them on penalties after it finished 2-2 after extra time. On personal note it was a very special day for me personally as I scored both goals to equalise and then scored the deciding penalty and later on found out I’d  won the top goal scorer award so it was a pretty special day for me, one that I’ll never forget. 

Obviously with COVID it’s been a challenging few years for us all as players as we’ve had to wait 2 years for the World Cup to go ahead. But we’ve all continued to train and have had plenty of friendly matches to prepare us. The teams been training really well I think and we’re all ready to go and try and bring the cup home!

I think ourselves and France are joint favourites for the tournament.

What do you see as the strengths of England's Powerchair Football World Cup squad?

I think as a team our biggest strength is the support we have around us, we have a fantastic group of staff that help us with coaching, psychology, fitness and wellbeing. 

Aside from the football, what else are you looking forward to about Australia?

After the tournament I’m looking forward to travelling around Australia and seeing the sights. It’ll be even better if we win it!

As an England fan, how well do you think the men did in the 2022 World Cup? Do you see Southgate's team as stronger in 2023 than they were in the Euros or in the 2018 World Cup?

I thought the men played well in the last World Cup, I was disappointed to going out to France in the quarterfinals but if Kane scores that penalty I think we go on to win that game. I think the squad is getting stronger and stronger.

What are your memories of watching any England team play?

I’ve got a very vivid one. It was the European championships [2004 – Marcus was six years old]… Portugal knocked us out. Sol Campbell scored late on, in extra time – but it got disallowed. I remember that Portugal game, with all me family watching it in my house.

The 2010 World Cup in South Africa was a great tournament, but we were robbed with the Lampard goal! [Against Germany – Frank Lampard’s rocket-shot hit the underside of the bar and crossed the line, but there was no goal-line technology back then and the referee didn’t give the goal].

And then obviously the last one [Russia 2018] was good cos I could drink then. So, I could go to the pub with my mates and that, and that Colombia game was the best when we won on penalties. It was brilliant.

Which players did you like best when you were growing up?

Rooney’s probably my favourite. I’m an Everton fan…Leighton Baines was the best left-back.

How old were you when you began playing powerchair football and what were those early experiences like?

When I went to secondary school in Year 7…a teacher said, ‘Come and try it out’. So, I went down [to powerchair football] and tried it out. I loved it. I’d been playing a sport called wheelchair hockey in Liverpool, which I’m still involved with today. So, a lot of the skills from that transferred over to the football. I picked it up, like, pretty quickly – football. I loved it, obviously. It was just a bit of fun to start off with, and then as it kinda went on and on it just became more and more serious.

What do you remember about your first England call up?

I always remember the day I got the call up and selected for the squad to go to that tournament in Limerick [Marcus’s first tournament games for England]. I’d just finished playing for the weekend. I’d had a good weekend, and then come home to see Gerard had slipped, and Liverpool lost the league – that was great! [On 27 April 2014, with Liverpool poised to win the league, Steven Gerard slipped, giving the ball away to Chelsea who promptly scored a crucial goal that denied Liverpool the title]. And then I got a phone call off someone within the FA saying ‘You’ve been selected for the squad,’ for Limerick. A great day!

Tell us something interesting about the man who gave you the assists for both of your goals in the 2019 Euros final – what should we know about Ed Common?

I knew Ed for about seven years. He’s a very, very, quiet individual, but he’s a great player. He plays in a similar position to me, so I’ve learnt a lot off him. We have a good link up partnership. I think in the semi-final Ed got a hattrick and I got the three assists. We have a good understanding.

Tell us about the penalty you took in the 2019 Euros final against France. Were you nervous? Did you hit it exactly where you planned in practice? How did it feel when you scored it?

In the lead-up to the game, they beat us 3-0 in the group stage. So, we knew had to play our perfect game. When we started, we had a different tactic to combat how they played. They scored an early goal, but we knew we started off well. When they scored the second, I thought, we’ve got no chance now – because they’re just going to kill it.

But then once we got the first one [scored by Marcus], I looked at the clock and seen we had ten minutes left. I just thought, just give us one more chance – and we got it [scored by Marcus].

And then when it went to penalties, we were the underdogs, no one really expected us to be here [in the final]. All the pressure is on them. And it showed – they missed twice. With my penalty, it was weird because a bit earlier on in the season we went out of the FA Cup in the quarter-finals on penalties: I missed one of mine. I’m quite fortunate I missed it because I kind of learnt a lot from it, in preparing what I should do for penalties, concentrating on my routine, my swing, making sure it was smooth.

When I went up [to take the crucial penalty at the Euros final] I kind of just knew I was going to score, I never did feel like I was going to miss. With our penalties, the keeper knows where you’re going to go. And you know the keeper knows where you’re going to go. But if you hit it cleanly enough, he can’t get to it. I knew that their goalkeeper was moving early, so I threw a feint in – if you watch it back, I threw a feint in and he’s went to go early and he’s had to set back, and I done it again and it’s just gone in. That was the maddest feeling ever. I can’t really describe what it felt like – it was mad.

Finally, who are your favourite England players today and how confident are you about the upcoming European Championships for Gareth Southgate’s team?

My favourite player is probably Phil Foden. He just looks like he’s got something. Every time you watch him, he just does something special. Like when you used to watch Rooney, he’s just got something different about him. I like Grealish as well. If he [Southgate] plays his right team, then I think we’ve got a good chance. But I’m not sure he’s going to – I think he’s going play too safe. I hope I’m wrong – I guess we’ll find out.

So, that was Marcus Harrison! And here’s the video of THAT Euros final. The FIPFA Powerchair Football World Cup will be held on 15-20 October 2023 in Sydney’s Olympic Park (read here for event info).