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.
