Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford picked up a bronze medal at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but his future is no closer to being resolved. The English forward spent last season on loan at Barcelona, where his attacking calibre served Hansi Flick’s tactics well.
Rashford ended the campaign with 14 goals and 14 assists in 49 appearances across all competitions, winning the LaLiga trophy and the Supercopa de Espana.
Marcus Rashford Stats: 2025/26 Season
Competition Appearances Starts Goals Assists Yellow Cards Red Cards Minutes Played
LaLiga 32 18 8 9 3 - 1,762'
UEFA Champions League 11 5 5 4 - - 579'
Copa del Rey 4 3 1 1 - - 249'
Supercopa 2 0 - - - - 32'
Total 49 26 14 14 3 - 2,622'
Source: Transfermarkt.
Contrary to expectations, the Catalans opted against triggering their option to make his loan stay permanent, preferring to sign his international team-mate Anthony Gordon instead. Meanwhile, Rashford was deemed surplus to requirements at Old Trafford by former head coach Ruben Amorim, and recent reports suggest that the Red Devils remain open to his departure.
The Premier League giants were hoping that an impressive outing at the summer’s World Cup could help ignite a bidding war for their academy graduate. Unfortunately, Rashford endured a mixed run with their Three Lions across the Atlantic.
A mixed outing at the 2026 World Cup
Rashford showed flashes of brilliance off the bench in England’s first two games at the World Cup, scoring one goal, prompting Thomas Tuchel to include him in the starting XI against Panama. The Englishman, though, failed to impress, despite playing the full 90 minutes in a 2-0 win.
The German manager stuck with Rashford for the following game against Congo, but his struggles showed no end. The 28 year old was eventually replaced in the 61st minute by Anthony Gordon, who set up two goals to secure a hard-fought 2-1 comeback win.
Rashford was an unused substitute in the wins over Mexico and Norway next, and came on in the dying minutes in the defeat to Argentina in the semi-final. However, the Englishman was included in the starting XI for the third-place play-off against France last weekend.
Rashford did very well, setting up Bukayo Saka’s first goal before he was replaced by Ollie Watkins at the break. England went on to win the game 6-4.
United ace among 100 fastest players at World Cup
FIFA recently shared statistics from the World Cup, including details about the fastest players at the 2026 World Cup. As expected, Kylian Mbappe registered the highest speed at the tournament, clocking 37.61 km/h.
Meanwhile, Rashford was the fastest United player at the summer’s spectacle, registering a top speed of 35.17 km/h. He was 25th in the overall rankings and the only player from the club to finish inside the top 100 at the World Cup.
Noussair Mazraoui was the second-fastest Red Devils player at the tournament, registering 33.87 km/h and finishing 129th in the list. Amad, on the other hand, clocked a top speed of 33.32 km/h and was ranked 212th among the fastest players at the tournament.
Elsewhere, former United academy graduate Anthony Elanga registered a top speed of 37.16 km/h. That made the Swede , who was once [described](http://Suggest: World Cup speed rankings: United ace ranks 25th, but) by former United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as “electric”, the second-fastest player at the tournament.
2026 FIFA World Cup's 25 Fastest Players
Rank Player Nation Position Speed (km/h) Sprints High-Speed Runs Distance Covered (m)
1 Kylian Mbappé France FW 37.61 529 250 66,726.57
2 Anthony Elanga Sweden FW 37.16 211 118 24,265.70
3 Micky van de Ven Netherlands DF 36.77 245 92 27,342.03
4 Jordan Bos Australia DF 36.67 396 223 36,920.34
5 Erling Haaland Norway FW 36.52 375 172 49,468.92
6 Abdukodir Khusanov Uzbekistan DF 36.46 218 93 27,912.88
7 Bradley Barcola France FW 36.32 340 165 42,770.58
8 Djed Spence England DF 36.22 417 214 45,630.64
9 Theo Hernández France DF 36.17 288 134 29,720.25
10 Nelson Semedo Portugal DF 35.90 196 79 16,630.40
11 Anthony Gordon England FW 35.79 474 232 43,686.72
12 Mohamed Toure Australia FW 35.77 217 79 19,508.03
13 Ryan Gravenberch Netherlands MF 35.61 443 129 37,432.87
14 Folarin Balogun USA FW 35.60 329 183 34,951.64
15 Marcus Holmgren Pedersen Norway DF 35.59 322 137 29,767.17
16 Alan Minda Ecuador MF 35.52 80 31 6,170.77
17 Sondre Langås Norway DF 35.51 26 11 2,880.70
18 Achraf Hakimi Morocco DF 35.48 624 296 63,750.68
19 Dayot Upamecano France DF 35.39 598 228 73,611.38
20 Pedro Neto Portugal FW 35.33 368 208 37,581.23
21 Chemsdine Talbi Morocco MF 35.33 280 128 23,817.14
22 Richie Laryea Canada DF 35.23 464 231 46,053.79
23 Giuliano Simeone Argentina FW 35.20 296 114 23,625.58
24 Omar Marmoush Egypt FW 35.17 321 165 35,476.36
25 Marcus Rashford England FW 35.17 285 147 28,790.24
Final Thoughts
Rashford’s pace and goalscoring prowess should have been an asset for United, and it is unfortunate how things have panned out for him. While a stay next season cannot be entirely ruled out, perhaps it is best for all parties concerned that he leaves Old Trafford this summer.
Featured image Michael Steele via Getty Images
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Deepungsu Pandit
Deepungsu has been a Manchester United fan since 2000. In his playing days, he was an attacking midfielder with a proclivity for the back heel. Right now, however, he prefers to operate as a regista. Deepungsu has been writing about the Red Devils, Football, and other things since 2009. He has worked for over seven years with Sportskeeda, writing football reviews, opinions and news articles. Deepungsu also maintains a blog, The Thinking Me, where he writes about life and things that interest him. His favourite Manchester United player is Paul Scholes.