Ian James Rush is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of all time and one of the best Welsh players in the history of the sport. At club level Rush played for Liverpool from 1980–1987 and 1988–1996. Additionally, he is the club's all-time leading goalscorer, having scored a total of 346 goals in all competitions at the club. He also holds the records for being the highest goalscorer in the history of the EFL Cup and the finals of the FA Cup. At international level, Rush made 73 appearances for the Wales national football team and remained the record goalscorer with 28 goals between 1980 and 1996, until the record was broken by Gareth Bale in 2018.

The EFL Cup, currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the English Football League (EFL), it is open to any club within the top four levels of the English football league system—92 clubs in total—comprising the top-level Premier League, and the three divisions of the English Football League's own league competition.