Ex-Aston Villa and England man wants Morgan Rogers to start ahead of Chelsea star at 2026 World Cup

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Former Villan Emile Heskey has thrown his support behind Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 09: Morgan Rogers of England celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the International Friendly between England and Wales at Wembley Stadium on October 09, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Eddie Keogh - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
Morgan Rogers celebrates his first Three Lions goal (Image credit: Getty Images)

Morgan Rogers is expected to be named in Thomas Tuchel's England squad for the upcoming March international break.

Typically, a manager's selection tends not to deviate too greatly three months before a major tournament and with the 2026 World Cup on the horizon, Rogers is in a strong position to be 'on the plane'.

Emile Heskey: 'Rogers over Palmer for England at the World Cup'

Emile Heskey

Former England striker Emile Heskey (Image credit: Getty Images)

The Three Lions are blessed with an abundance of talent, particularly in the attacking areas, but Tuchel can only pick 11 players when England line up to take on Croatia on June 17.

One player who is having an excellent season in the Premier League, and consequently putting himself front and centre of any discussion surrounding potential World Cup lineups, is Morgan Rogers.

Morgan Rogers is in red-hot form for the Villans

Morgan Rogers is in red-hot form for the Villans with eight goals and five assists in the Premier League this season (Image credit: Getty Images)

The Aston Villa midfielder is a candidate for Tuchel's No. 10 position, slotting in behind skipper Harry Kane as he has done in previous international windows.

Speaking to FourFourTwo about England's chances at this summer's tournament on behalf of AGamble.com, Emile Heskey believes Rogers is the best option in the hole.

"Well, number nine has already chosen itself, hasn't it? And I would say number seven has already chosen itself with [Bukayo] Saka," the ex-England man said. "Eleven I'd probably go with, I might even go with [Anthony] Gordon, but I know [Marcus] Rashford has had a good season. I'll probably go with Gordon - and 10 is a very difficult one, an extremely difficult one.

"At this moment in time with the way I feel, I love Morgan Rogers. I love the way that he plays, but then [Palmer] just scored a hat-trick didn't he? And by the way, we were talking about him not going. So it's great that we are getting our players in good form right now, but at this moment in time I would say Morgan Rogers."

Heskey made 62 appearances for the Three Lions, scoring seven times. He appeared at UEFA Euro 2000, World Cup 2002, where he scored in a 3-0 win over Denmark, Euro 2004 and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

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Rogers, meanwhile, has 12 caps to his name and recently scored his first England goal in a victory over Wales.

Cole Palmer, also 23 and a product of Manchester City's academy setup, is another candidate for the No. 10 role at the World Cup and did no harm to his chances with a hat-trick for Chelsea against Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend.

He has, however, missed the last three England camps through injury, last making an appearance for the Three Lions in an underwhelming 1-0 win over Andorra last year - his only outing under Tuchel.

Joe Donnohue
Joe Donnohue
Senior Digital Writer

Joe joined FourFourTwo as senior digital writer in July 2025 after five years covering Leeds United in the Championship and Premier League. Joe's 'Mastermind' specialist subject is 2000s-era Newcastle United having had a season ticket at St. James' Park for 10 years before relocating to Leeds and later London. Joe takes a keen interest in youth football, covering PL2, U21 Euros, as well as U20 and U17 World Cups in the past, in addition to hosting the industry-leading football recruitment-focused SCOUTED podcast. He is also one of the lucky few to have 'hit top bins' as a contestant on Soccer AM. It wasn't a shin-roller.

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