Whole energy looks: United legend delivers surprise Marcus Rashford verdict after Panama display

Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford’s World Cup has hardly gone according to plan. The Englishman arrived at the summer’s showpiece event on the back of an impressive loan spell with Barcelona. Having been deemed surplus to requirements at Old Trafford, the 28 year old moved to Camp Nou on a season-long temporary deal last summer and soon turned his career around. Rashford was a revelation under Hansi Flick, registering 14 goals and 14 assists in 49 games across all competitions. Marcus Rashford Stats: 2025/26 Season CompetitionAppearancesStartsGoalsAssistsYellow CardsRed CardsMinutes Played LaLiga3218893-1,762′ UEFA Champions League11554–579′ Copa del Rey4311–249′ Supercopa20—-32′ Total492614143-2,622′ Source: Transfermarkt. While Barcelona opted against triggering the €30 million purchase option in the player’s contract, United remain keen to offload him this summer. There was a belief that a good run at the 2026 World Cup would aid the Englishman’s permanent sale this summer, but he has endured a mixed tournament so far. Rashford’s World Cup so far Rashford came off the bench against Croatia to score the final goal in England’s 4-2 win in the opening group-stage tie. However, it was not enough to earn him a place in the starting XI against Ghana in the following match. England struggled to impress against the Black Stars and, while Rashford did come off the bench, he failed to repeat his previous feat. Nevertheless, the player was afforded his first start at the World Cup in the final group-stage game against Panama over the weekend. Rashford had a lively start but failed to make an impact as England had to rely on Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane to secure a 2-0 win. The United forward lost possession 20 times in the game and failed to register a successful dribble, but club legend Rio Ferdinand insists that statistics do not highlight the entire picture. Rashford passed the eye test Speaking on his podcast, Ferdinand explained why he was impressed with Rashford’s performance against Panama. He said: “Yeah, I think sometimes stats can skew the way things are in reality.” “I think that you can massage the stats to suit your argument sometimes. But I think if you’re just talking about the eye test with Marcus, I think his whole energy looks much better.” “It looks really good. His body language is really positive. I think to really go, this is what his performance was like for me, it was a performance that showed a lot of promise without being decisive and without being clinical.” Tuchel urged to trust United forward Ferdinand went on to insist that Tuchel has to turn to Rashford and Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka if he wishes to unlock the opposition. He said: “I thought he got into some really good areas.” “I think up until the decision-making part at the end of it, I think he would have been doing everything that the manager would have wanted, running in behind, being a threat behind on the last man, getting to one-vs-one situations.” “But him and [Bukayo] Saka — on both sides — it was just the end product that wasn’t there this game. But I saw enough to make me still have the belief in those guys to be the ones that are going to really unlock things for us outside of Jude [Bellingham] and Harry Kane.” Final Thoughts Harry Maguire recently revealed that the United squad are ready to welcome Rashford back if he so desires. However, the player’s fate at Old Trafford appears sealed, so he needs to have a good World Cup and move on to a new challenge. Featured image Michael Steele via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social 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.