England is through to the Round of 16 at the World Cup, but the guy who was supposed to be the secondary scoring threat is making that look like a bad bet right now.
Marcus Rashford got the start against the Democratic Republic of Congo, and he got 60 full minutes to prove he belongs in the XI. He didn’t exactly take the opportunity and run with it. England fell behind 1-0 in the seventh minute, and while Harry Kane eventually dragged them to a 2-1 win with two second-half goals, Rashford’s afternoon was mostly a story of what could have been.
He thought he had the equalizer in the first half. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, his old Manchester United teammate playing for Congo, had other plans. Wan-Bissaka cleared Rashford’s shot off the line. That moment kind of summed up the whole performance.
Rashford finished with three shots. Two of those were classified as big chances missed. He had zero key passes. Zero completed crosses. Sure, he completed 100% of his passes, but when you’re trailing and need a goal, safe sideways passing doesn’t exactly scream “start me in knockout games.”
Anthony Gordon made the difference in five minutes
The guy who replaced Rashford in the 60th minute? Anthony Gordon. He came on and immediately set up both of Kane’s goals. That’s not a typo. Two assists in roughly 30 minutes of action after Rashford managed none in 60. Gordon didn’t just play well. He made Rashford’s performance look borderline invisible.
Rashford did complete his only dribble, his only tackle, and his only aerial duel. Those are nice stats for a box score. They don’t change the fact that England needed a spark and didn’t get it until the sub came in.
His club future is also complicated
There’s been chatter that Rashford might actually rejoin Manchester United’s first team next season. FC Barcelona passed on their option to sign him. That’s the kind of news that gets reported as “Rashford could be reintegrated” but really reads like “nobody else wanted to pay for him either.”
United fans will be watching the next England game closely. England faces Mexico on Monday morning BST in the Round of 16. If Gareth Southgate sticks with Rashford after Gordon’s performance, it’ll raise eyebrows. If he benches him, it’ll raise questions about where Rashford goes from here.
One thing’s for sure: Kane bailed England out. Again. Rashford needs to figure out how to be part of the solution, not a passenger watching someone else do the work.
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