Morgan Rogers Selected Over Jude Bellingham for England’s World Cup Qualifier Against Serbia

Morgan Rogers will start instead of Jude Bellingham for England’s World Cup qualifier against Serbia on Thursday.

Following comments from Thomas Tuchel suggesting that the two midfielders could not coexist within the current formation, Rogers has been selected to occupy the No. 10 position at Wembley Stadium.

Bellingham, who has been called up to the England squad for the first time since Tuchel expressed concerns regarding aspects of his behavior last June, will begin the match on the bench.

The young midfielder was omitted from last month’s international fixtures against Wales and Latvia as he focused on regaining fitness post-shoulder surgery, while Rogers has demonstrated commendable performance during Bellingham’s absence.

Nico O’Reilly will also make his England debut, starting at left-back.

The England starting eleven against Serbia includes: Pickford; James, Stones, Konsa, O’Reilly; Anderson, Rice; Saka, Rogers, Rashford; Kane.

For Serbia, the lineup features: Rajkovic; Mimovic, Milenkovic, Pavlovic, Terzic; Gudelj, Lukic; Zivkovic, Ilic, Kostic; Vlahovic.

On Wednesday, Tuchel commented on the ongoing competition between Bellingham and Rogers for playing time in his system, stating, “They are respectful, they are friends with each other, and they fight at the moment for the same position. Can they play together? Yes, but in a different structure; however, now is not the time to change our formation.”

Rogers has scored one goal in 11 Premier League appearances for Aston Villa and netted a goal for England during the 3-0 friendly victory over Wales in October. In contrast, Bellingham has found the net twice for Real Madrid in LaLiga this season since his return from injury.