Rashford has made powerful case to start

[Getty Images] England's attacking style in their opening World Cup win against Croatia in Dallas created a stir of excitement but still left head coach Thomas Tuchel with questions to ponder. In attack, substitute Marcus Rashford scored the final goal in England's 4-2 victory after replacing new Barcelona buy Anthony Gordon, making a powerful case for his inclusion from the start with a lively 18-minute cameo. England's World Cup campaign now moves to Boston, where they face Ghana on Tuesday, and where Tuchel must decide whether to stick or twist with his line-up. The pair fought for a place on England's left-flank before the tournament started, with Rashford excelling in the pre-World Cup friendly win over New Zealand and Gordon confirming his place with his contribution in the 3-0 triumph over Costa Rica. The sub-plot to this World Cup between the two has taken place in Catalonia, where Rashford enjoyed a loan spell at Barcelona during the 2025-26 domestic season. While he is still waiting to see if they will negotiate with Manchester United to keep him, Barcelona paid £69.3m to take Gordon from Newcastle United . Gordon, however, has been short on match action after being left out of games towards the end of last season by head coach Eddie Howe, who was planning for the future after accepting Gordon was leaving. He was bottom of the BBC Sport's player ratings for the Croatia game, scoring 5.54 out of 10. Former England striker Chris Sutton told BBC Sport: "It is going to be a squad game at the World Cup. We could even have a debate about the other flank, where Noni Madueke started, with Tuchel managing Bukayo Saka's minutes. "On the left, though, I would go for Rashford. Gordon's form suffered towards the end of the season. He didn't play much for Newcastle and he just doesn't seem quite up to speed. "This is not to say he won't have a big part to play as the tournament goes on, but Rashford took his goal well and looked good. It is close but, at the moment, I'd go for Rashford. I think he deserves an opportunity." Read the full article here