Morgan Rogers was nowhere to be found in this year\u2019s Ballon d\u2019Or voting. Nobody expected him to be, but the fact Jude Bellingham and Cole Palmer both finished in the top 30 for football\u2019s most prestigious individual award highlights how difficult it will be for the Aston Villa playmaker to muscle his way into Thomas Tuchel\u2019s team.<\/p>\n
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Bellingham and Palmer are both most effective playing in behind a central striker, where Rogers also does his best work. England also have Phil Foden and Morgan Gibbs-White who can operate in that role. Tuchel isn\u2019t exactly short of options in attacking midfield, yet there is only one spot available.<\/p>\n
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Rogers, however, is making a case for himself as England\u2019s starting number 10. The 23-year-old made the most of his opportunity against Wales on Friday, registering his first international goal as the hosts cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win. Rogers was arguably the best player on the pitch.<\/p>\n
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Perhaps even more notably, Rogers started and played the full 90 minutes of England\u2019s 5-0 demolition of Serbia. This was The Three Lions\u2019 best and most complete performance since Tuchel\u2019s appointment last year and set a standard for the national team between now and the start of the 2026 World Cup.<\/p>\n
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\u201cMorgan was excellent like the whole team, he’s very humble, he’s very physical,\u201d said Tuchel after the win over Wales. \u201cHe has the ability to score and to assist. He had a fantastic season [in 2024-25] and was deservedly voted as the young player of the season in the Premier League. Morgan was one piece of the puzzle but it is a team effort.\u201d<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s easy to see why Tuchel would be so glowing in his praise of Rogers. The 23-year-old is a natural dribbler and has the ability to beat an opponent with the ball at his feet. Rogers is an instinctive creator in and around the final third, as demonstrated by the fact no Aston Villa player is averaging more key passes per 90 minutes than him.<\/p>\n
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Against Wales on Friday night, there were signs of a sound understanding between Rogers and Ollie Watkins. This wasn\u2019t surprising considering the pair know each other well at club level, but Rogers also dovetailed well with Harry Kane when he started in the aforementioned campaign-defining victory in Belgrade.<\/p>\n
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Of course, there\u2019s still time for the likes of Bellingham, Foden and Palmer to catch Tuchel\u2019s eye before the World Cup, but Rogers is making the most of his opportunity in the first team. If Tuchel is currently going through the process of building a team for next summer, Rogers is making sure he will be a part of it.<\/p>\n
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England will officially qualify for the 2026 World Cup with a win over Latvia in Riga on Tuesday. While Tuchel\u2019s tenure as national team manager hasn\u2019t been the most exhilarating to date, it\u2019s almost certain that The Three Lions will get the job done at which point everyone associated with England can start focusing on next summer.<\/p>\n
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Tuchel has a lot on his plate. He must find the right balance in the centre of the pitch. It\u2019s not immediately clear who will play on the left wing. Or at left back. Or at right back, for that matter, with Trent Alexander-Arnold struggling for form and fitness and Reece James playing in central midfield for Chelsea.<\/p>\n
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In Rogers, though, Tuchel has someone who looks to have quickly absorbed his methods and ideas as England manager. The 23-year-old is on an upward trajectory as an international player and that could carry him to the World Cup as one of The Three Lions most important figures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Morgan Rogers was nowhere to be found in this year\u2019s Ballon d\u2019Or voting. Nobody expected him to be, but the fact Jude Bellingham and Cole Palmer both finished in the top 30 for football\u2019s most prestigious individual award highlights how difficult it will be for the Aston Villa playmaker to muscle his way into Thomas Tuchel\u2019s team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":54847,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[643],"tags":[1269],"class_list":["post-57698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport","tag-feature-home"],"yoast_head":"\n