Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers have ‘friendly’ England rivalry – but who will come out on top?
England’s games against World Cup qualifiers Serbia and Albania may not be a guaranteed qualification outcome, but they are hugely important in deciding who will play in this key area when the tournament begins.
Rogers revealed the extent of his friendship with Bellingham: “I don’t remember, but apparently he came to my fifth birthday party.”
They are often seen together on England duty and Rogers previously said: “Sharing the pitch with him again made it all the sweeter. “It’s lovely to know that I was able to share these moments with him and that he felt happy and proud too.
“My mom knows her parents pretty well, with work and stuff like that. We were always around each other, playing against each other in the academies.
“We just kind of stuck together as we were at the first under-15 camp together, both from Birmingham.
“We grew up probably five minutes away from each other. We were sort of rivals, me at West Brom and him at Birmingham City.”
Bellingham and Rogers were pitted against each other in the fight for a place alongside Foden, but there is still a heart-warming story of how two boys born in Stourbridge and Halesowen respectively went on a journey of such significance and significance.
Rogers took a more scenic route to the top, starting at West Bromwich Albion before moving on to Manchester City, where he had loan spells at Lincoln City, Bournemouth and Blackpool, before joining Middlesbrough in July 2023.
He impressed on Teesside so much that Villa manager Unai Emery made it his personal business to sign Rogers, signing a deal for £8m (potentially rising to £15m) on 1 February 2024.
He made such progress at Villa that when he was offered a move to Chelsea in the summer, Rogers was seen as a player who could potentially break into the £100m bracket.
Bellingham’s journey was more direct, from his beloved Birmingham City to Borussia Dortmund and then Real Madrid, where he won major honors in La Liga and the Champions League in his first season.
They now have their sights set on meeting next summer’s World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States – but who will wear England’s prized No.10 jersey?
