Morgan Rogers or Jude Bellingham was one of the talking points before this summer's World Cup, but the former Middlesbrough player says both can play together in England colours.

Real Madrid's Bellingham is the star player in a crowded field vying for the No 10 position behind a striker.

But Thomas Tuchel kept him honest by playing his fellow Midlander and boyhood friend Rogers there for much of the season. Rogers impressed in September's 5-0 qualifying win in Serbia - a defining moment of Tuchel's time so far – when Bellingham was missing with a shoulder injury.

Bellingham has started England's first two games at the World Cup with Rogers, who established himself in senior football at Middlesbrough in 2023-24, has been a substitute in both.

Got your back: Morgan Rogers, left, guides Jude Bellingham off the pitch at half-time of a spiky World Cup group game with Ghana in Boston. Will they play together tonight in New Jersey? (Picture: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

placeholder image — Got your back: Morgan Rogers, left, guides Jude Bellingham off the pitch at half-time of a spiky World Cup group game with Ghana in Boston. Will they play together tonight in New Jersey? (Picture: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

They played alongside one another for eight minutes of the 4-2 win over Croatia, when Tuchel pushed Bellingham into a deeper midfield role.

Rogers, now at Aston Villa, sees no reason when they cannot play together more often.

“Yeah, 100 per cent,” he said. “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.”

England's midfielder #17 Morgan Rogers (C) and England's midfielder #10 Jude Bellingham react to Ghana's players during the 2026 World Cup Group L football match between England and Ghana at the Boston Stadium (Picture: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images)

The pair were team-mates in junior football in Halesowen, and Rogers said that made it easier to take being left out of the side for Bellingham.

"I want him to do well, and because it’s him, everything’s fine," said the 23-year-old.

“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.”

Rogers started five England games during the season to Bellingham's one, but said it was stretching it to say he expected to start against Croatia.

Eberechi Eze came off the bench for England's draw with Ghana (Picture: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

“Expect is the wrong word," he said. "Hopeful, optimistic,” he said. “(There is) 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.”

Meanwhile, Bukayo Saka could start his first game of the tournament against Panama on Saturday.

Despite Arsenal winning the Premier League for the first time in more than two decades and reaching only their second European Cup final, Saka has not had the best season at club level with the arduous schedule taking its toll on his Achilles.

But he looked sharp in the run-in and has had a positive impact as a substitute against Croatia and Ghana, and Gunners colleague Eberechi Eze believes he is a “special player”.

“He’s an incredibly talented player, and his level of understanding of the game is insane,” said Eze, who joined his boyhood club from Crystal Palace in August.

“I feel like he’s a player who makes the right decision a lot of the time, and he’s so effective, so efficient.

“I enjoy playing with him a lot, because you always know what you’re going to get from him, you can always link up with him and he’s a fun player to play with.

“I’d say his decision-making is just experience and his learning growing up.

“I feel like that’s something that he’s probably worked on from a young age, and when you’re just seeing it now, we see it in the high stage.

“It’s definitely a difficult skill to cultivate, so he is a special player.”

The talk before the tournament was that Saka was not expected to be fit to start a game until the final group match, and it would be no great surprise were he to replace Noni Madueke, especially as England need a result in New York.

Had England beaten Ghana on Tuesday, they would already be through to the last 32 as group winners. As it is, a 0-0 draw guaranteed their place in the knockouts but with Ghana and Croatia both capable of overtaking them, only a victory in New York will guarantee they top the group and face a third-placed side – most likely to be Ecuador – in the next round. A draw will do if their rivals do likewise.

Knowing that will have no bearing on how the Three Lions approach the game, according to forward Eze.

“I don’t think it makes a difference for us personally,” he said.

“I feel like we’ll set out to win regardless, so going into the game with the same mentality, the same focus, you’re not going to drop your focus regardless of it being the last game. We’ve got the same goal, the same aim, and we’ll be going to achieve that.”