‘Friendly competition’ – could Rogers keep Bellingham out of England team?

England head coach Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup strategy has put lifelong friends Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers on a collision course going into next summer’s showpiece.

Any rivalry between the gifted pair would be in a purely footballing context – they were born five miles apart in the Midlands and share close bonds stretching back to their days in junior football.

Real Madrid superstar Bellingham posted photographs of them playing for England’s junior teams, after Rogers made his debut in the 3-0 win away to Greece a year ago, with the words: “Congrats brother. Come a long way.”

And Aston Villa’s 23-year-old Rogers referred to Bellingham as his “little big brother” after making his first Wembley appearance for England against the Republic of Ireland three days later.

The friendship, going back to school days – playing both as team-mates and opponents at junior level – must be put to one side after Tuchel made it clear he will not have room for both of them in his starting line-up.

Rogers is the player in possession – performing impressively while Bellingham has been on the margins – first after shoulder surgery, then when Tuchel decided not to include him in his squad for the friendly against Wales and the 5-0 win in Latvia that confirmed World Cup qualification.

Phil Foden’s brilliant start to the season with Manchester City, returning to his best after a disappointing campaign last time out, means he must also be factored into an equation which equals healthy competition for England’s number 10 role.

When asked by BBC Sport’s Alex Howell whether the pair could play in the same team, Tuchel appeared to pour cold water on the notion.

“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,” he said.

He added: “They are friends so it can also be a friendly competition. They don’t have to be enemies. They don’t have to hate each other. They are respectful. They are friends with each other and they fight at the moment for the same position.

“Can they play together? Yes, but in a different structure and at the moment it’s not the moment to change our structure.”

Rogers has featured in all eight games and played 460 minutes under Tuchel – making five starts, scoring one goal and registering one assist. Bellingham has made three starts under the German, totalling 265 minutes – including an appearance as substitute – but has yet to get on the scoresheet.

Bellingham missed two international games with a shoulder injury and – along with Foden – was left out of last month’s squad.

The smart money remains on Bellingham’s experience with England and Real Madrid winning Tuchel’s selection battle in the summer, but the head coach has already made it clear reputations count for nothing. Performance is what matters.

Rogers has shown he can flourish in Tuchel’s England team structure, as well as add flourishes, while Bellingham has proved he can produce moments of game-changing brilliance for club and country – a priceless asset at a major tournament.

It now depends, not only on performances, but on whether Tuchel wants that structured team, or whether he goes for the moments of magic he knows Bellingham can provide.

While Bellingham’s return to the England fold felt inevitable, his place in the starting line-up is less so. But would a player of his quality really be left out?

Tuchel is clearly crystallising his final plans, but Rogers’ recent inclusion is more than just a trial.

“I didn’t feel us experimenting in the last two camps and we will not start in this camp.” Tuchel said. “We are here to build on what we built and keep on going.”

A “bit of a hamstring niggle” for Rogers may give Bellingham the chance to start his rehabilitation against Serbia at Wembley on Thursday, but there is no doubt the player who has just signed a six-year contract at Aston Villa has made a strong case through weight of performances.

Tuchel, however, is delighted to have Bellingham at his disposal again after the understandable noise caused by leaving him out, even though the 22-year-old wanted to be included.

England’s games against Serbia and Albania – which conclude their World Cup qualifiers – may be dead rubbers, with qualification secured, but they are highly significant when it comes to deciding who plays in that key area when the tournament starts.

Rogers revealed the extent of his friendship with Bellingham when he said: “I don’t remember it, but apparently he came to my fifth birthday party.”

They are often seen together on England duty and Rogers has said previously: “It made it even sweeter, sharing the pitch with him again. It’s so nice, knowing I can share these moments with him and that he feels happy and proud as well.

“My mum knows his parents quite well, to do with work and stuff. We have always been around each other, playing against each other in the academies.

“Being in the first under-15 camp together, both being from Birmingham, we kind of stuck to each other.

“We grew up probably five minutes away from each other. We have kind of been rivals, me as West Brom and him at Birmingham City.”

Bellingham and Rogers have been pitted against each other in the fight for a place, along with Foden, but it is still a heartwarming story of how two boys, born in Stourbridge and Halesowen respectively, have taken the journey to such prominence and importance.

Rogers took the more scenic route to the top, starting at West Bromwich Albion, before moving to Manchester City, where he had loan spells at Lincoln City, Bournemouth and Blackpool before joining Middlesbrough in July 2023.

He impressed so much on Teesside that Villa manager Unai Emery made it his personal business to sign Rogers, clinching a deal on 1 February 2024, for a reported £8m – potentially rising to £15m.

Such has been his progress at Villa, that when Chelsea were linked with a move in the summer, Rogers was regarded as a player who could potentially be placed in the £100m bracket.

Bellingham’s journey has been more direct, from his beloved Birmingham City to Borussia Dortmund then Real Madrid – where he claimed the major prizes of La Liga and the Champions League in his first season.