Marcus Rashford had a rough afternoon against Congo. The kind that gets you roasted in the national press and maybe costs you a starting spot for the knockout rounds.
England survived his 60-minute shift thanks to Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane, but the damage to Rashford’s reputation is already done. The Manchester United forward, who spent last season on loan at Barcelona and won a La Liga title, couldn’t get it going against a compact Congo defense. He miscontrolled a ball out of play, sent a terrible cross into the stands, and got hooked before the hour mark with England trailing 1-0.
The media scorecards were brutal
The Guardian gave him a 3/10 and basically said his performance summed up England’s awful start. TalkSPORT went lower: a 2/10, calling the effort deeply disappointing. Sky Sports landed at 5/10, noting he let passes slip past him all first half but did have a few decent chances — an effort cleared off the line and one that hit the side netting.
The BBC was a little more measured. They said there were “flashes of the quality that we know Rashford has” but that the performance got more desperate as England chased the game.
One outlet went the other way. The Independent gave him a 6/10, crediting his willingness to run at defenders and bring verticality to an England attack that had looked flat. That’s a generous read, honestly.
His road back to England’s XI
Rashford’s been on a weird journey. He left Manchester United on loan in winter 2025 after falling out with Ruben Amorim, spent the second half of that season at Aston Villa, then played all of 2025/26 at Barcelona. He scored and assisted 28 goals in all competitions for Barça. Everyone assumed they’d trigger the permanent option. They didn’t. So after the World Cup, he heads back to Carrington for preseason under a manager who already shipped him out once.
He started this World Cup on the bench. Scored against Croatia. Started against Panama. Got the nod against Congo and couldn’t hold it down. Gordon came on for him, created two goals for Kane in the final 30 minutes, and England escaped 2-1.
That’s the kind of substitution that changes a tournament for a player. Gordon’s stock just went up. Rashford’s took a hit.
He’ll get another shot early Monday morning against Mexico. England needs him to be the player Barcelona saw, not the guy who couldn’t keep a ball in play against Congo.
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