Marcus Rashford has shared a light-hearted response to Rio Ferdinand's off-air reaction to his goal in England's resounding 6-2 win over Iran on Monday.
The Manchester United striker scored just minutes after being introduced as a second-half substitute to help Gareth Southgate's side make the perfect start to their World Cup campaign. Bukayo Saka also bagged a brace in the match while Jude Bellingham, Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish all got in on the act.
Ferdinand was working as a pundit for BBC Sport during the game but shared a tweet of himself reacting to Rashford's goal - and the striker has now replied with a laughing emoji in response to Ferdinand's exuberant celebration.
Rashford's 71st-minute strike encapsulated the 25-year-old's recent return to form. After missing a penalty in the Euro 2020 final, Rashford missed the start of the 2021/22 Premier League campaign due to shoulder surgery and struggled to nail down a first-team berth.
But he was restored to the Manchester United team by new boss Erik ten Hag at the start of the season - and the Old Trafford academy graduate has thrived.
Rashford had fallen out of favour with England but was called up by Southgate for Qatar after plundering eight goals in 19 games so far this season.
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The Three Lions star also reacted to his goal on Instagram after the match. He posted: "Words can’t express my happiness in scoring at the World Cup. Great performance from the team see you guys on Friday [for the next game against the USA]."
Southgate had been booed by England fans after they were battered by Hungary in the Nations League in the summer, but he was pleased after seeing his side emphatically end a six-match winless run.
"I'm a bit fed up with the end of the game really," Southgate quipped after 10 minutes of added-on time. "Look, to win by that margin, to play as we did for the majority of the game, I have to be really happy. That's the way the players have prepared, they looked ready.
"We felt we wanted to be that type of team. They dealt with the game really well, it was a sticky first half, with lots of stoppages, but we were a real threat throughout that and our pressing and movement was really good.
"So I've got to be very happy but we shouldn't be conceding two goals at that stage of the game and we'll have to be on it against the States [USA]. It's a great start but we're going to have to be better.
"I think it was just a consequence of the scoreline [the sloppy end to the game]. We had 24 minutes of added time across the game. so it's a long time to focus. We just lost concentration and when we play at a slower tempo we're not as effective."
