The latest Manchester United news as the forward started for England against Andorra but struggled to make an impact on the game.
Marcus Rashford during the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between England and Andorra at Villa Park.
Marcus Rashford started for England against Andorra on Saturday evening.
(Image: Shaun Brooks - CameraSport via Getty Images)
England manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted that Marcus Rashford is struggling on the international stage with England, with him missing that ‘wow’ performance.
The Manchester United loanee was named in the starting XI for the Three Lions against Andorra in the World Cup qualifier on Saturday evening. However, he struggled to make too much of an impact against the back five of Andorra.
The forward was the first player taken off the pitch by Tuchel in the second half when he was replaced by Anthony Gordon in the 68th minute. Rashford will now have a fight on his hands to retain a place in the starting XI for Tuesday night’s qualifier against Serbia.
The game for England comes with Rashford having to fight for his place in the Barcelona line-up. His one start so far this season saw him withdrawn at half-time. There are now even some reports in Spain that Barcelona are considering ending the loan spell early when the January window opens.
Rashford completed a loan move from United to the Nou Camp in the summer after spending the second half of last season on a temporary deal with Aston Villa. Barcelona have the option to make the deal permanent at the end of the season.
But Rashford, at the minute, will be concentrating on trying to re-find his form. Following the game at Villa Park on Saturday, Tuchel has made a telling admission about the forward.
“He struggles a bit with numbers and with the ‘wow’ performance in an England shirt, I agree,” he said.
“But as long as he trains like he did and behaves and is active and alive in the group, then we will always trust him and push him and support him.
“I can see that he tries, this is for me the most important, that he stays positive and he trains at the moment with the right attitude, with a smile and with a lot of quality.”
Rashford’s last goal for England came back in October 2023, in a 3-1 European qualifiers win against Italy. After being out of the squad for just under a year, he has found his way back in under Tuchel, the England boss has no doubt how to again get the best out of the player.
“For me, he’s a left winger,” he said. "He’s clearly a left winger. He had the freedom to go a bit more inside, not only to go against the fifth defender in the back five but to play maybe a bit more on the inside against the third centre-back.
“I think the right side was a bit more active and found positions a bit better than on the left side, so I think he suffered from that. He had an excellent training week and it was obvious that we want him to start because he trained so, so well on the left side.
“I think this is the position where he has an open body position towards goal. I think against a back five, he can try more to play in the last line and try more to play more against the third central defender and not against the wing back.”
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