Rashford Did Not Start on the Right Against Argentina: England Chose Rogers

Correction: The original version was published after England's World Cup semi-final against Argentina but described the match as still to come. It also ended inside a broken quotation. This revised version records what actually happened and distinguishes a pundit's pre-match suggestion from confirmed team news.

Thomas Tuchel did not start Marcus Rashford on the right wing. England's official team sheet named Morgan Rogers in the starting XI, with Bukayo Saka, Rashford and Noni Madueke among the substitutes. Rogers replaced Madueke from the quarter-final line-up. See England's official match centre and line-up.

What England chose on the right

The Associated Press independently reported before kick-off that Rogers had been selected in place of Madueke on the right wing. The choice had a direct attacking payoff: in the 55th minute, Rogers crossed for Anthony Gordon to put England 1-0 ahead. Read the Associated Press match updates.

Rogers therefore supplied the decisive contribution that the original preview had imagined might come from an improvised Rashford selection. This does not show that the earlier tactical idea was unreasonable; it shows that the idea was speculation and was not the option Tuchel used.

What happened to Rashford

Rashford began on the bench and did not enter until stoppage time. The Guardian's match ratings record him replacing Djed Spence in the 93rd minute, after Argentina had equalised through Enzo Fernández and gone ahead through Lautaro Martínez. See the Guardian's player and substitute record.

That late appearance gave Rashford almost no time to influence the contest. It would be misleading to present the 2-1 defeat as evidence for or against his suitability on the right, because England never tested the proposed starting role.

Where the Rashford idea came from

Before the match, talkSPORT reported Darren Bent's suggestion that Rashford could be used on the right if Saka was not fully fit. The report also discussed Madueke's quarter-final performance and Rashford's club output from that flank. It correctly framed Bent's view as a possible selection rather than confirmed team news. Read the original talkSPORT report.

The SportSignals version went further than the evidence by treating the scenario as a gamble that could define the semi-final and by retaining that future-facing framing after the match had finished. The confirmed selection and match record now replace that speculation.

How the semi-final unfolded

Gordon put England ahead from Rogers' cross in the 55th minute. Argentina equalised through Fernández in the 85th minute, then Martínez scored the winner in second-half stoppage time. England's official report confirms the 2-1 result and that Argentina advanced to face Spain in the final. Review the official result and scorers.

Analysis

Rogers' start shows that Tuchel found a third solution to the choice presented in the original article: neither an unfit Saka nor Rashford on his less familiar side, and not another start for Madueke. Rogers' assist justified the attacking part of that decision. England's later retreat and defeat were separate tactical questions and should not be retrofitted into a verdict on a Rashford role that was never tried.