Jude Bellingham or Morgan Rogers: Who Should Start for England After Thomas Tuchel Warning?

The Real Madrid superstar has struggled to establish himself during Tuchel’s tenure.

Jude Bellingham (left) and Morgan Rogers (right) are in a battle for minutes. | Rich Storry/Joe Prior/Visionhaus/Getty Images

The battle for minutes at the top of England’s midfield was so significant that manager Thomas Tuchel felt unable to even take Cole Palmer or Phil Foden to the 2026 World Cup.

Instead, the leading contenders to start for the Three Lions are Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham and Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers. The former would appear to be a guaranteed starter based on reputation alone, but things haven’t worked out that way for Bellingham under Tuchel.

Asked whether Bellingham has a fight on his hands for a starting role this summer, Tuchel admitted: “Yes, he has.

“He is one of the starters, he knows he is one of the starters, but we have 14 or 15 potential starters. These roles can always change, but at the moment I think there are like 14 or 15 proper starters, and Jude is one of them.”

All eyes will be on which player gets the nod for England’s World Cup opener against Croatia on June 17. Will it be Bellingham, or will it be Rogers?

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How Bellingham, Rogers Have Fared Under Tuchel

Rogers (right) has enjoyed Tuchel’s tenure so far. | Eddie Keogh/The FA/Getty Images

The changeover from Gareth Southgate to Tuchel in the England dugout in January 2025 could hardly have gone worse for Bellingham.

An underwhelming start to the year saw Tuchel describe Bellingham’s on-field behavior as “repulsive”—comments for which he soon apologized, insisting he had made a poor choice of words in his second language—before a lengthy battle with injuries saw him left out of the squads in September and October.

As 2025 came to a close, Tuchel had clearly taken a liking to Rogers, who started four straight games in Bellingham’s absence and added a goal and an assist during a period in which England appeared to be finding a groove.

Rogers also started the first World Cup warm-up friendly against New Zealand, given 45 minutes to impress before being replaced by Bellingham, who out-performed his close friend during his time on the pitch.

Bellingham vs. Rogers Under Tuchel

Statistic	Jude Bellingham	Morgan Rogers
Appearances	7	12
Starts	4	8
Goals	0	1
Assists	1	1

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How Bellingham, Rogers Compared in 2025–26

Rogers led Aston Villa to Europa League glory. | Arife Karakum/Anadolu/Getty Images

Looking at club form, both players have offered up pros and cons when it comes to being named England’s starter.

Rogers, a permanent starter for Aston Villa as either an attacking midfielder or a left winger, reached double figures in both goals and assists in a season which featured both hot streaks and cool spells. Just three of his 10 Premier League goals came in the second half of the campaign, while he added two goals and three assists in seven knockout games in the Europa League en route to lifting the trophy.

As for Bellingham, the same injury problems that plagued his introduction to Tuchel caused problems at club level. He managed just 22 starts in La Liga and ended the season with less than half the minutes racked up by Rogers across all competitions.

Predictably, that drop in minutes can be seen in Bellingham’s individual statistics. A return of 13 goal contributions is Bellingham’s lowest since 2021, although it must be stressed that he was far from the only Real Madrid player to fall short of expectations this season.

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Bellingham vs. Rogers in 2025–26

Statistic	Jude Bellingham	Morgan Rogers
Appearances	40	55
Goals	8	14
Assists	5	12

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Of the two players, it is clear Rogers brings the best individual form heading into the World Cup, but Tuchel knows better than most about the importance of copying that over to the international stage.

Foden was left out of England’s final roster after Tuchel publicly confessed the Manchester City midfielder looked like a completely different player for the Three Lions on the pitch compared to the training ground. The manager clearly knows what he wants and believes Bellingham and Rogers provide his best hopes of getting it.

Had the World Cup arrived 12 months earlier, you get the sense that Rogers would have walked into the starting lineup for England, but Bellingham, to his credit, has worked hard to endear himself to Tuchel after an awkward start to their relationship.

It was Bellingham who caught the eye against New Zealand, and Tuchel was eager to praise the Madrid superstar in the build-up to Wednesday’s final friendly against Costa Rica, bringing both a different choice of language and a tone of voice that suggests their prior issues have been firmly put to bed.

“[Bellingham] looks good,” Tuchel admitted. “He looks good in training.

“I think he is, at the moment, in a sweet spot because he has had his break and he has the hunger to be back on the pitch and after injury, this is normal. And he is so happy to be back on the pitch. You take everything in.”

What a time to hit a “sweet spot.”

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