Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford was only afforded a brief cameo in England’s 2-1 defeat to Argentina on Wednesday, 15 July, in the 2026 World Cup semi-final. The English forward’s future at Old Trafford hangs in the balance, and he would have hoped to use the tournament to impress his potential suitors.
Rashford started the tournament from the bench, coming on against Croatia in the opening group stage match to score in the 4-2 win. That was his only contribution for the Three Lions, with the 28 year old failing to impress when afforded starts against Panama and Congo.
Rashford was an unused substitute in the Round of 16 win over Mexico and the quarter-final victory over Norway. He also started from the bench against Argentina in the semi-final and watched as Anthony Gordon gave his team the lead in the 55th minute.
England were on the brink of securing a memorable victory when La Albiceleste scored in the dying minutes of the game to turn the tide in their favour. Tuchel finally threw in Rashford for Djed Spence in the sixth minute of second-half injury time, but it turned out to be too little, too late.
French legend Thierry Henry has now slammed the German manager for not bringing on the United star earlier in the game.
Henry slams Tuchel’s Rashford decision
Speaking on Fox Sports after the game, Henry suggested that Thomas Tuchel should have been braver with his use of Rashford. He said: “When you’re on the bench as a coach, things happen so quickly. We need to analyse something because Marcus Rashford was supposed to come on just before Anthony Gordon scored.”
“After Gordon scores then suddenly you go into a back-five which seemed too early. Then they lose Reece James and they bring on Nico O’Reilly but he’s playing on the wing. Boom – Argentina score and then where do you go with that formation? Then boom they score again and now you need to try and bring on guys to score yourselves.”
“It’s not easy but I’ll repeat again, they went into a back-five too early. It’s not easy on the bench but they went defensive too early – you don’t beat that team [Argentina] like that.”
“So, Thomas Tuchel, what he did wasn’t bad. They just did it too early. I think that England went into a back five too early for my liking, giving them the ball. I’m not saying that they thought they won the game. It’s not true. But they thought they had to defend the lead a tiny bit too early.”
Marcus Rashford Stats: 2026 FIFA World Cup
| Stage | Date | Opponent | Result | Position | Goals | Assists | Yellow Cards | Red Cards | Minutes Played |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group L | 18/06/26 | Croatia | 4–2 | LW | 1 | - | - | - | 18' |
| Group L | 24/06/26 | Ghana | 0–0 | LW | - | - | - | - | 7' |
| Group L | 28/06/26 | Panama | 2–0 | LW | - | - | - | - | 90' |
| Round of 32 | 01/07/26 | DR Congo | 2–1 | LW | - | - | - | - | 61' |
| Round of 16 | 06/07/26 | Mexico | 3–2 | On the bench | - | - | - | - | - |
| Quarter-finals | 12/07/26 | Norway | 2–1 AET | On the bench | - | - | - | - | - |
| Semi-finals | 16/07/26 | Argentina | 1–2 | LW | - | - | - | - | 1' |
Source: Transfermarkt.
Zlatan agrees with Henry
Former United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is also part of the Fox Sports pundit panel for the World Cup, agreed with Henry, adding: “That’s why I asked Thierry to explain what happened with Rashford because it shows you the dynamics for the coach and what was supposed to happen and what really happened.”
“He was supposed to bring Rashford in and push on the counter-attacks but then they score and they go to a back-five. They had six defenders on the pitch at one point. These are the different feelings you have as a coach during a game and this time it didn’t go Thomas Tuchel’s way.”
“Tuchel didn’t play the cards right and for Argentina, it’s not about how you start but how you end. I think England stopped playing. Tuchel made some changes. He went too defensive, and Scaloni went more offensive.”
England will face France at the Miami Stadium on Saturday, 18 July, in the 2026 World Cup Third place play-off. United fans will hope Kobbie Mainoo, who has yet to play at the tournament, will be involved in the game.
Final Thoughts
Rashford’s World Cup has not unfolded as expected, further complicating United’s plans to offload him this summer. While there has been talk of reintegrating the Englishman into the squad, it looks highly unlikely that he will be at Old Trafford next season.
Featured image Michael Steele via Getty Images
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