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Rashford leads Manchester to 3-0 defeat of Nottingham Forest
Marcus Rashford continued his rich vein of form as Manchester United closed in on the Premier League top four with a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
Rashford, fresh from an impressive World Cup campaign with England, scored the opener and made the second for Anthony Martial as United moved to within one point of fourth-placed Tottenham.
He was off the pitch by the time that Fred added late gloss to the victory that Rashford spearheaded.
The 25-year-old has been back to his best this season and scored his eighth goal in 13 games for club and country, looking a real threat throughout the match.
The way he combined with Martial and Antony in attack suggests that United will fare just fine without the departed Cristiano Ronaldo.
And with the possibility of additions next month, Erik ten Hag’s side will be making a real push to break into those Champions League places and stay in them through the second half of the season.
For Forest, who had a goal ruled out by VAR, this match went a little better than the last time they played United when they lost 8-1 in 1998, but they remain in the bottom three and with Chelsea to come on New Year’s Day it does not get any easier.
Having conceded six at Manchester City and five at Arsenal, Steve Cooper’s side will have arrived at Old Trafford with a sense of trepidation about what was to come.
They had a taste of what might be in store as early as the fourth minute as Wayne Hennessey – making his first Premier League start since January – turned a Tyrell Malacia shot onto a post.
The next 15 minutes were actually of promise for Forest as they probed United without the prospect of creating anything and then it all fell apart inside the space of four minutes.
The hosts took the lead in the 19th minute with a goal straight off the training ground as Rashford darted to the front post to meet Christian Eriksen’s low corner and swept into the far corner to draw level with Eric Cantona on 64 Premier League goals for United.
A mere 185 seconds later it was 2-0 as United produced a scintillating counter-attack with Rashford this time the provider, breaking at pace and then squaring for Martial, whose low shot squirmed through the hands of Hennessey, who will not be too keen to see any replays.
Unfortunately for Forest, VAR official Robert Madley watched plenty of replays of the goal Forest thought they had scored five minutes before the break.
Renan Lodi whipped in an inviting cross that Ryan Yates appeared to head into the far corner.
However, Madley first checked for a handball on Yates as his arm was outstretched and then when it became apparent that the ball deflected off Willy Boly on the way in, he ruled the defender was in an offside position and Forest were denied a first away goal since August.
Forest needed a goal early in the second half and they briefly threatened, but it was United that continued to create the meaningful chances.
Rashford was at the heart of another lightning break, feeding Bruno Fernandes, who teed up Antony, but Hennessey made a good save.
The goalkeeper, playing his first game since being sent off for Wales at the World Cup, was being kept busy and went some way to atoning for that first-half error making a string of stops to keep it at two.
He denied Rashford with his feet, kept out Martial with a smart stop and then tipped over from Casemiro’s chipped effort.
It looked like Ten Hag’s men would have to settle for two, but Fred killed the game in the final five minutes, coolly converting after Casemiro’s clever pass.
By Kunle Solaja, MetLife Stadium, New Jersey
Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez etched his name into FIFA World Cup history on Sunday after becoming only the sixth player ever to be sent off in a World Cup final.
Fernandez was shown a straight red card in the third minute of added time during Argentina’s final against Spain after a reckless challenge on Spanish defender Pau Cubarsí. The dismissal came after the Argentine had earlier been booked for simulation, capping a frustrating evening for the midfielder.
His red card also means Argentina have now produced two players who have been sent off in World Cup finals, more than any other nation.
Sports Village Square recalls that the first-ever red card in a FIFA World Cup final was issued to Argentina’s Pedro Monzón during the 1990 final against West Germany at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Monzón was dismissed as Argentina went on to lose 1-0. In the same match, teammate Gustavo Dezotti was also sent off, making it the only World Cup final to feature two expulsions from the same team.
Fernandez now joins an exclusive and unwanted list of players dismissed in football’s biggest match.
The players sent off in FIFA World Cup finals are:
- Pedro Monzón (Argentina) vs West Germany, 1990
- Gustavo Dezotti (Argentina) vs West Germany, 1990
- Marcel Desailly (France) vs Brazil, 1998
- Zinedine Zidane (France) vs Italy, 2006
- John Heitinga (Netherlands) vs Spain, 2010
- Enzo Fernandez (Argentina) vs Spain, 2026
History has rarely been kind to teams reduced to 10 men in the World Cup final. Except France in 1998, when Marcel Desailly was dismissed late in a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Brazil, every team that has had a player sent off in the final has ended up on the losing side.
Fernandez’s dismissal therefore added another chapter to one of the tournament’s most exclusive and unfortunate records, reinforcing the trend that a red card in the World Cup final has almost always been accompanied by defeat.
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BY KUNLE SOLAJA, NEW YORK
Africa emerged as the most successful confederation in the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with an unprecedented 90 percent of its representatives advancing to the Round of 32.
Nine of the 10 African teams that started the tournament secured places in the knockout phase, giving the Confederation of African Football (CAF) the highest qualification rate among all six continental confederations.
The African nations progressing to the Round of 32 are South Africa, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, Cape Verde, Senegal, Egypt, Ghana, DR Congo and Algeria.
Only one African team failed to survive the group stage, underscoring the continent’s growing competitiveness on football’s biggest stage.
CAF’s 90 per cent success rate placed it ahead of South America’s CONMEBOL, which saw 83.33 per cent of its teams advance, and Europe’s UEFA, whose members recorded an 81.25 per cent qualification rate.
The figures represent a significant shift in the global football landscape, where European and South American nations have traditionally dominated World Cup competitions.
The expanded 48-team format appears to have provided African countries with greater opportunities to showcase their progress, and they responded with a series of impressive performances throughout the group stage.
Cape Verde emerged as one of the tournament’s surprise packages by reaching the knockout rounds for the first time, while South Africa, DR Congo and Algeria also celebrated historic advances.
Senegal made history by becoming the first African nation to score five goals in a World Cup match, while Morocco continued the momentum generated by their remarkable semi-final run at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
In contrast, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) endured a difficult campaign, with only 22.22 per cent of its teams progressing. The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) recorded a 50 per cent qualification rate despite having the advantage of three host nations.
Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) failed to place any team in the Round of 32.
World Cup Round of 32 Qualification Rates by Confederation
- CAF (Africa): 90%
- CONMEBOL (South America): 83.33%
- UEFA (Europe): 81.25%
- CONCACAF (North and Central America/Caribbean): 50%
- AFC (Asia): 22.22%
- OFC (Oceania): 0%
The statistics show Africa’s growing influence in world football and raise hopes that the continent could produce its strongest collective performance ever in the knockout stages of a FIFA World Cup.
With nine teams still in contention, Africa enters the Round of 32 with more representatives than any other confederation and a genuine opportunity to challenge for the latter stages of the tournament.
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BY KUNLE SOLAJA, NEW YORK.
Ecuador will look to continue their strong record against Concacaf opposition when they face Curaçao in a Group E encounter at the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The South Americans enter the match having won their last two World Cup meetings with teams from the Concacaf region and will be eager to maintain that trend as they chase a place in the knockout rounds.
For Curaçao, however, the fixture represents an opportunity to create history.
The Caribbean nation is one of the tournament’s debutants and is still searching for its first World Cup victory. After suffering a heavy defeat to Germany in their opening match, Curaçao will be desperate to demonstrate the resilience and determination that earned them a place at the expanded 48-team tournament.
A victory would make them the first of the World Cup 2026 newcomers to register a win and would provide a significant boost to their qualification hopes.
Ecuador are expected to rely on their experience at this level, but they know underestimating Curaçao could prove costly. The underdogs have already shown flashes of attacking quality despite their difficult introduction against Germany.
As the group stage begins to take shape, both teams understand the importance of securing points. Ecuador are chasing progression, while Curaçao are chasing history.
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