Aston Villa star has been hoping he could get a nod in the next England games at the world cup.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup has been almost halfway through with only a few games in the preliminary round left to be completed. England would be playing their last match of the group stage against Panama on June 27th.
Unfortunately, not all Aston Villa men enjoy the hype of the competition. Among three names called up by Thomas Tuchel, only Ezri Konsa has featured in both games as a starter. Morgan Rogers did play but as a substitute while Ollie Watkins has yet to even hit the pitch.
Ahead of the game versus Panama, Morgan Rogers remains hopeful about his chance to be included in the starting XI although he understands such decision is not on his hands. He shared his views on it during the interview with ITV as reported by Express and Stars.
“Expect is the wrong word. Hopeful, optimistic. Disappointment, of course, I’m disappointed. I want to play every game. I want to show what I’m about and show it on the biggest stage. But understanding as well. I know it’s a team, in a squad role, and there’s plenty of games.”
Morgan Rogers once again lost his place to his rival and friend, Jude Bellingham. When he was inquired on his feeling whether it was harder or easier to take while missing out his starter spot to his friend who is deployed on the very position he played during the qualifiers, the 23-year-old midfielder responded wisely.
“Great question. Easier or harder? Easier because I want him to do well, and because it’s him, everything’s fine. This is really nice, I think coming full circle (from their junior days), where we started to where we’ve ended up now, his path, my path, and how we’ve ended up at the same point, representing our country. It’s just a really nice feeling.”
Nevertheless, he does not feel that the manager should alaways pick him or his rival ahead of each other. The former Middlesborough man is still hoping they could play together instead. He stated his opinion on such possibility.
“Yeah, 100 per cent. I think we have different qualities. Obviously there’s a lot of similarities but I think there’s a lot of differences in our games.
“The connection of understanding each other’s games as well as anyone, because we’ve known each other so long – I think that’s another key aspect that can be really important and really beneficial in the World Cup.”
It remains to be seen if the German boss would eventually consider it. Playing them together means he would have to sacrifice one name to accommodate both figures or change the formation. It is not as easy as expected although nothing is impossible in football.
In the second outing against Ghana, Rogers came off the bench on 73rd minute replacing Bellingham directly. Unfortunately, he could not make a direct impact to the team, which was left frustrated by The Black Stars’ low block defense.
Rogers himself did not contribute much. He did create any shots, only made successful dribble once, made one cross only plus seven passes. The attacking midfielder might have to learn from his senior, Ollie Watkins on how to make the difference from the bench. Reading the game from the sideline and analyzing the opposition’s flaws as Watkins do could help him improve his performance.
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