English media all say same thing about Aston Villa star Morgan Rogers after win vs Serbia
Morgan Rogers played a little over an hour for England in their routine 2-0 win over Serbia at Wembley on Thursday night.
The Aston Villa star’s place in Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad is already as good as confirmed, but he is now competing with Jude Bellingham – and others – for a starting spot.
Rogers has work to do to usurp Bellingham, with many outsiders just not seeing what Villa fans get to see on a near weekly basis.
The 23-year-old had the game with Serbia, and Sunday’s trip to Albania, to prove to Tuchel he is the right man to start just off Harry Kane.
Rogers has been all smiles in the England camp, but it seems the media were not entirely convinced against Serbia bar one or two moments.
Morgan Rogers has one ‘sublime’ moment vs Serbia
Rogers recently signed a new contract with Aston Villa, but that is not to say he will not be linked with a move away again next summer.
Indeed, a strong showing at the World Cup in North America would no doubt see the vultures circle once again.
Rogers will be hopeful of starting regularly for England next summer, but the national media all seem to agree that there is still work to be done if that is to happen.
The Guardian gave Rogers a 7/10 rating and hailed some “sublime” early touches that got the fans going, but there was not much beyond that.
Similarly, The Mirror gave Rogers a 7/10 and added he looked “lively” at times, matching the rating of Bellingham, the man who replaced him after 64 minutes.
Goal, meanwhile, gave Rogers a 6/10 and talkSPORT a seven, stating that he did not really do enough to show he should start over Bellingham in the big ones.
The Guardian gave a harsher rating of 5/10 and pondered if he will now make way for the game with Albania in what would be a blow for Rogers.
How did Rogers compare to Jude Bellingham vs Serbia?
Rogers is so used to stepping up for Villa, so he will perhaps be frustrated that his display has been pretty much universally described as good but not great.
He registered one shot against Serbia, which Bellingham was able to match despite playing around 30 minutes fewer.
However, Rogers did register one key pass – something Bellingham failed to do – and his pass accuracy of 84 per cent was marginally better than his direct rival’s 83 per cent, albeit not exactly a difference-maker.
| Morgan Rogers | vs Serbia |
| Minutes | 64 |
| Shots | 1 |
| Key passes | 1 |
| Pass accuracy | 84% |
| Touches | 32 |
| Fouls committed | 4 |
What is perhaps worrying for Rogers is that he recorded six fewer touches than Bellingham, despite being on the pitch for far longer.
Rogers did do more in a defensive sense, though, with one tackle and four fouls – nobody managed that many – compared to zero and zero for Bellingham.
Ultimately, this one game won’t sway Thomas Tuchel one way or the other, but Rogers will know he needs to do something bigger if he is to nail down his starting spot for the tournament proper.
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