GOAL's Unpopular Opinion: Cristiano Ronaldo-esque Morgan Rogers must start ahead of Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer for England to win the 2026 World Cup

Rogers scooped the PFA Young Player of the Year award for 2024-25 after registering eight goals and 10 assists for Villa, but was one of the players who faced the most criticism for the club's tough start this term. He was even subjected to sarcastic cheers from home fans after completing a pass in Villa's first win of the season against Bologna in the Europa League, and gave an honest assessment of his struggles in an interview with Sky Sports.

"I might have been a surprise package last year, but now people know about me and they know about my game," he said. "They try to stop me and now it's about how I can progress to the next level and combat that. Good players still get found out when they don't try to improve and get better."

That refreshingly mature outlook is one of the key reasons for the midfielder's swift revival. Rogers has embraced extra responsibility to reach the next level at Villa Park, even filling in as a left winger and striker when required. Rogers' decision-making in the final third has improved, and he's making himself available to receive the ball between the lines, where he can cause maximum damage, more often than any other player in the league - per Genius Sports.

It's an evolution that has earned Rogers a new contract and glowing words of praise from Emery, who told reporters at the weekend: "The most important thing is how he is working, tactically and being versatile. He is now scoring goals and he is being brilliant. He always was playing, doing his work and with a huge commitment in everything. Then, the goals are coming. He is feeling better and better. He is growing up so quickly and performing better. He is a really fantastic guy. His physical capacity is really huge. He is a great player with the mentality he has to explain everything he is doing and to show everything he is doing."

Rogers is primarily known for his powerful ball-carrying and close control, but is also now developing a reputation as a long-range shooting specialist. He found the net with another rocket at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in October, and produced an unstoppable variation of the 'knuckleball' free-kick in Villa's 2-1 at Leeds United the following month.

Striking the ball so true from dead centre is a technique few players have mastered, with a short, sharp follow-through to create a dipping motion that catches goalkeepers off guard. It was first made famous in the Premier League by a certain Manchester United legend, as Theo Walcott observed when waxing lyrical about Rogers' performance against West Ham.

The former Arsenal winger said on BBC's 'Match of the Day': "You think of [Cristiano] Ronaldo and how, if you give them time and space on the ball when they shoot from distance you are in trouble, they are able to manipulate the ball the way they want to. Rogers is able to do that."

Walcott went on to make a bold prediction about Rogers' 2026 international prospects: "For me, he is not just going to be in the squad - he is a dead cert to be a starter for England at the World Cup - 100 per cent. He does everything, he's not just a goal threat. I like all [the contenders for the number 10 position], but one of them is going to have to miss out on the squad itself - and Rogers, for me, has to start. He is such an intelligent player, he's the kind of player that recognises a weakness in the structure of the team."

Rogers has been close to a "dead cert" for England since Tuchel's appointment at the start of the year, starting six of the German's first 10 games at the helm. He also benefitted from Bellingham's injury-enforced absence between August and October, starting behind Harry Kane in 5-0 away routs of Serbia and Latvia in World Cup qualifying, and a 3-0 friendly victory over Wales.

The West Brom academy graduate scored his first goal for England in the Wales game, producing a smart first-time finish from a tight angle, but his playmaking qualities shone through most against Serbia as he made five key passes, including an assist for Noni Madueke, and completed more dribbles than anyone else on the pitch. Even more crucially, he won Tuchel's trust while Bellingham was still making his way back to full fitness.

As a result, when Bellingham finally returned to the England fold in the November international break, he did not walk straight back into Tuchel's line up. Rogers was the first-choice No.10 once again for the Three Lions' 2-0 home win against Serbia, with Bellingham restricted to a 25-minute cameo at Wembley.

"Rather than finding the best players a position to just have them on the field, it’s maybe better to put everyone in their best position and have a competition. At the moment, the competition is between the two of them. They are friends so it can also be a friendly competition," Tuchel said before the game. "Can they play together? Yes, but in a different structure and at the moment it’s not the moment to change our structure."

Bellingham started ahead of Rogers in England's final World Cup qualifier against Albania, but Tuchel said that was just a "rest" for the Villa talisman and that he did not "deserve" to be among the substitutes. The former Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea boss has repeatedly suggested that he will put building a fully functioning team ahead of any sentiment for household names, which is good news for Rogers in his battle against the Real Madrid superstar.

Despite being a year older, Rogers is still relatively inexperienced compared to Bellingham, who exudes authority and has a strong track record for coming up clutch in vital moments for club and country. He's more of a natural leader than Rogers, offers a similar goal threat, and is equally as strong from a physical standpoint.

But the simple fact is that Rogers is a better fit for Tuchel's system. Bellingham is a maverick who wants to be everywhere at once; he thrives when given license to express himself, not when he's required to help the team play in a more structured rhythm. 

Tuchel has explained the importance of "discipline" in the No.10 slot, and Rogers brings that. You won't see him wandering out of position and getting in the way of Elliot Anderson when he's trying to dictate the tempo or inadvertently reducing the amount of space for the likes of Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon out wide by constantly chasing the ball.

Rogers' main focus is to bring the best out of Kane and provide the fluidity and pace in the final third that Tuchel craves. He will run beyond Kane in and out of possession, leading the press and freeing up room for the Bayern Munich striker to be more involved in the build-up play. Whereas Bellingham can resemble a headless chicken when trying too hard to make an impression, Rogers channels his energy and aggression smartly to make the Three Lions a more direct side capable of overwhelming any opponent.

Palmer is another No.10 option for England, and perhaps the standout one if it were purely down to effectiveness in front of goal. The Chelsea ace showed that again on Saturday with Tuchel watching on, sweeping home a trademark finish to open the scoring in a 2-0 win against Everton at Stamford Bridge.

That was, however, only his fourth start of what has been an injury-riddled campaign. Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca also confirmed after the game that Palmer is still feeling pain in his game and cannot play two or three games per week yet. That is far from ideal six months out from the World Cup kick-off.

Arsenal's Eberechi Eze is a strong contender, too, but he may not get the consistent run of games in attacking midfield required to convince Tuchel, because Mikel Arteta is constantly moving him around the pitch. At the moment, the man providing the most fierce competition for Rogers and Bellingham is Foden, who has scored six goals in his last four Premier League games for City, finally recapturing the form that saw him crowned the 2023-24 PFA Player of the Year.

Foden is a masterful technician who can create something out of nothing, but he lacks Rogers' physicality and has been notoriously unreliable in an England shirt, particularly at major tournaments. Tuchel has also claimed that a false nine berth "suits him most", suggesting Foden could instead become an impact substitute, having seen him excel after replacing Kane in the 2-0 win against Albania.

Rogers has the unique skillset that could give England the edge in their quest for a second World Cup crown. He will find pockets of space in tight games and is always positive on the ball, with the razor-sharp execution to match his endeavour.

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane even compared Rogers to Paul Gascoigne in September, telling ITV Sport: "He just has that thing where you think you’ve got him and then he gets away from you. Just little moments there, he reminds me of Gazza." It's fair to say there is no higher praise for an England attacker than that.

Rogers is also an impressive athlete, which could be extremely important in the searing hot temperatures Tuchel's squad will have to deal with in North America. England need players who can not only handle the heat, but also exploit tired defences, and Rogers absolutely falls into that bracket.

"I feel like the shirt is his, he's playing so well," ex-England striker Peter Crouch said when covering Villa on TNT Sports earlier this month. "He's got a little bit of everything. We've got so much talent in that [No.10] area, but the way he's playing at the moment, and I think it's obvious that Tuchel definitely likes him, he's got to just continue what he's doing."

Despite facing world-class competition, Rogers' destiny is in his own hands. England's new jewel just has to maintain his current standards, and he will be Kane's right-hand man next summer.