Kyle Walker has backed Jude Bellingham to start for England at the 2026 World Cup amid talks for him to be dropped from the lineup for Morgan Rogers.
The buildup to the Three Lions World Cup opener against Croatia has been surrounded with questions over the preferred option for the number ‘10’ role between Rogers and Bellingham.
Joining in on the conversation, former Manchester City defender Kyle Walker has thrown his support behind Bellingham.
“It is obvious Thomas Tuchel has some big dilemmas in key positions. There’s the argument about who should play in the number ten role, Jude Bellingham or Morgan Rogers. And there’s the debate about the left side between Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford”, Walker revealed.
“For me Jude just has the edge at the moment and that’s no detriment to Morgan. I played with Morgan when he was on the way up at Manchester City and he went on loan to the likes of Blackpool. He really put in the work and it speaks volumes for him that he’s now competing with Jude for an England starting place at this World Cup.
“Morgan was moved on by City, because he had established players in front of him like Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne and of course Cole Palmer, who also moved on himself in the end. But you could see in training the potential he had so he hasn’t surprised me. He’s a big physical presence. Morgan went from strength to strength doing well at Middlesbrough and then really making his mark at Aston Villa to the point where he is now a European champion and has come on leaps and bounds.
“This is just the start for Morgan Rogers. But the thing about Jude is his amazing presence on the field that makes defenders so worried. And for Morgan to be in the same bracket is a massive credit to him”, the former England right-back added.
England will be hoping to end their major trophy drought at the World Cup and will begin their campaign against Croatia, before also facing Ghana and Panama in the group stages.
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