Jude Bellingham vs Morgan Rogers: Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup headache solved for him before England opener
Thomas Tuchel has already shocked the nation by leaving a number of England’s most high-profile attacking midfielders at home.
But could the Three Lions boss leave the most famous one out of his first World Cup starting XI?
Besides deciding who will start on the left-wing, Tuchel’s biggest conundrum looks set to be picking between Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham and Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers.
Bellingham, still only 22, is widely considered one of the best players in world football.
But Tuchel has repeatedly stressed his intention to move England away from being an XI of the most talented players, and towards being the most fully-functioning team possible.
No more crowbarring Phil Foden into the team as a left-sided forward. If there’s no room in his actual position, he’s out. Same goes for Cole Palmer and Morgan Gibbs-White.
Tuchel likes the way England play with Rogers in the No.10 position. It’s why the 23-year-old has started 12 of the German’s 13 matches as Three Lions boss, including all eight World Cup qualifiers.
Bellingham has only started four of those games, in part due to injury, but also because of Tuchel’s personal preference.
He has, however, been handed the No.10 shirt for the tournament in the official squad list.
When asked about Rogers and Bellingham ahead of England’s friendly against Costa Rica on Wednesday night, live on talkSPORT, Tuchel typically kept his cards close to his chest.
“Morgan is a bit more vertical than Jude in his game, but both of them are fantastic players.
“Morgan is a key player for Aston Villa, got a European title, played 5,000 minutes, I think. He’s a proper machine and is non-stop available and getting better and better.
“We could feel in the first days of camp that Morgan needs a bit of time to restart the engine, but he got stronger and stronger in the last two training sessions. Jude, after his injury, trains with a lot of joy, played with a lot of joy. He’s just happy to be back on the pitch, which is not a surprise.
“This is actually something we can use because he hasn’t played so many minutes, comes back from injury, so he’s in a sweet spot at the moment.
“They give us very different things, but both of them give us a lot of quality, they both give us physicality and they can also play together.
“It’s also nice to have one of them finishing a match when things get hot, when opponents get tired. To have one of these guys with other guys coming from the bench can be a huge asset through the tournament.”
So who gets the nod for the World Cup opener against Croatia on June 17 – live on talkSPORT? Our pundits have had a crack at solving Tuchel’s problem for him.
Simon Jordan: Bellingham
The former Crystal Palace owner said: “Bellingham by any measurement – or by any rational measurement – should be in the starting line-up.
“Because he’s a world-class footballer. We’ve probably got three or four of those in the squad.
“And he is one of them.”
Gabby Agbonlahor: Bellingham
The Aston Villa legend said: “Bellingham starts for me.
“Listen, I love Rogers, he’ll be one of those players who becomes more influential the longer the tournament goes on.
“I suppose you could play Rogers off the left. But I think it will be Rashford there.”
Stuart Pearce: Rogers
The England legend said: “I sort of see it from a managerial point of view.
“Sometimes you look back and you say, okay, over the last calendar year, which ones have done really well for me? And I think that points more to Rogers than Bellingham.
“I think there’s enough games and enough time for Bellingham to fight his way back into the team.
“I think Rogers will start because of the loyalty that the manager will show him.
“In regard to what he’s done over this calendar year, I think he’s been one of England’s standout players. I would quantify that by saying his form at the back end of the season has not been as strong as three quarters of the season prior to that.
“But I think sometimes we, as managers, have a streak of loyalty in us that says, look, you’ve done brilliantly for me. There’s the shirt.
“But you know full well you’ve got to do your homework with the other players that you’re not picking as well to keep them on side, make sure they’re keen.
“And you know full well that if Rogers does start the first game, chances are that Bellingham might go past him as the tournament goes on.”
Scott Minto: Rogers, then Bellingham
The former Premier League defender said: “If we are to win the World Cup, I think two players, maybe three, because I chuck in Jordan Pickford as well, have to be absolutely superb.
“So Pickford, Harry Kane, and Bellingham. I think Bellingham is truly world-class.
“But the way that Tuchel has enjoyed the way that Rogers has played, I would have no problem at all if Bellingham was on the bench in the first game against Croatia and Rogers plays in that one.
“Now, you can argue, and people will be arguing, in the last couple of months, perhaps Rogers’ form fell off a little bit.
“In the game against New Zealand, Bellingham’s performance in the second half was perhaps better than Rogers’ in the first half.
“But again, I’m not reading anything into the performance in that particular game. I think Tuchel knows his 11.”
Minto’s prediction could be on the money with Tuchel hinting that the No.10 role duties could change as England’s campaign evolves.
Tuchel also told talkSPORT that Eberechi Eze shouldn’t be ruled out, adding: “The tournament is a long tournament. It’s one more game per se, and then it’s hot, it’s humid.
“Maybe we have to deal with altitude and hopefully we enter the stages where it’s possible to play 120 minutes. We need to think about what is the team that should finish matches, what is the team that finishes matches off and creates problems from the bench that will just buy into all our decisions.
“The players know that. There will be no big deal within the group.
“Of course, I know that some positions we have a lot of quality. Don’t forget, we have Ebs on the number 10. He plays for Arsenal very regularly on the right 10. Big players, big personalities and we need it.”
Darren Ambrose: Bellingham for me, Rogers for Tuchel
The former Premier League midfielder said: “It’s such a difficult one. It’s a good headache to have. I’m a big fan of Rogers, he had a great season even though he tailed off at the end.
“Tuchel clearly likes him as well. He does the business for England.
“But it’s Bellingham. He’s a global superstar. If it’s the World Cup final, I would pick Bellingham.
“For the first game, I think he will go with Rogers against Croatia.”
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