One of the biggest questions for England at the 2026 World Cup will be who starts at No.10.
It’s a question that has dominated for a long time, even before Thomas Tuchel named his England squad. And there were some shock omissions from the 26-man roster.
Now, it feels like a straight shootout between Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers.
So, who should be England’s starting No.10? We used our Comparison Matrix to assess the options.
Jude Bellingham vs Morgan Rogers
Creativity
The main thing England will want from their No.10 will be creativity, to support the wingers from a central area. Bellingham and Rogers will have their stats impacted by their differing roles and positions at club level, but it’s still an interesting comparison.
Bellingham does generally dominate the creative and passing metrics. He’s in a more possession-heavy side at Real Madrid in a central role to keep Los Blancos on the ball. Although he has been listed as a No.10 at times, it was more in a 4-1-4-1 — giving Bellingham the opportunity to drop deeper on the ball. As such, Bellingham averaged 48.4 open-play completed passes per 90 minutes in La Liga in 2025-26. Rogers, by comparison, completed just 20.9 per 90 — but he spent a lot more time out on the wing.
Bellingham’s deeper position also allowed him to average 11.4 forward passes per 90, with more of the pitch to work with. But Rogers did average more through-balls, with 0.5 per 90 to Bellingham’s 02. The creative numbers weren’t too dissimilar either, though Bellingham does shine. The Real Madrid man averaged 1.7 chances created per 90 in Lia Liga, compared to Rogers’ 1.3 with Aston Villa.
Rogers did match Bellingham’s assists per 90 with 0.2, and had more in total, creating six goals to his compatriot’s four. If you want to go on shirt numbers alone, Bellingham is Tuchel’s starter. And the creative numbers are in his favour, too.
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Goal threat
There’s also the goalscoring responsibilities. And England need to ensure they can get goals from players not called Harry Kane. Rogers and Bellingham posted similar shooting numbers in their respective leagues in 2025-26. In fact, there wasn’t much to separate the pair at all.
Both Rogers and Bellingham averaged 1.6 shots per 90 in their leagues. But they were very different shooters. Bellingham was the more accurate finisher, hitting the target with 81.25% of his efforts, excluding those that were blocked. He averaged 1.3 shots on target, compared to 0.9, taking a lot of his shots from inside the box. Rogers, meanwhile, only hit the target with 0.9 of his shots per 90 — with 55.17% accuracy. But Rogers tested himself more from range.
Rogers was good from range, too. He scored three of his 10 total league goals from outside the box, compared to Bellingham’s one from six. And their goals both averaged to 0.3 per 90. Rogers slightly edged the shot conversion rate too, at 11.9% to Bellingham’s 11.76%. Both players also got into the opposition penalty area at similar rates, averaging 5.0 touches in the opposition box per 90.
Ball retention
England will also need their No.10 to keep them on the ball, and manoeuvre through opposition defences. Not to mention win the ball back in key areas. Again, club roles do play a big part in the metric.
Bellingham comes out on top across the board in the key duel metrics. Due to his slightly deeper central role at Real Madrid, Bellingham averaged 2.5 tackles per 90 in La Liga in 2025-26, compared to Rogers’ 1.2 in the Premier League. Once on the ball, Bellingham had more luck too. He completed 1.8 take-ons per 90 in La Liga, with a 55.22% success rate. Rogers, meanwhile, completed just 35.59% of his attempted take-ons, at 1.2 per 90.
Bellingham also only lost possession 11.8 times per 90, compared to Rogers’ 17. Possession numbers are generally high for attackers, so the numbers themselves aren’t too much to be worried about. The forwards are going to try risky things more often, and it doesn’t always come off. But a lower number is always better.
Overall, Bellingham won 8.5 of his total duels per 90, just under double Rogers’ 4.4. These duels do include metrics such as tackles, so the differing roles continue to play a part. And it doesn’t mean that Rogers cannot do the same job as Bellingham. But Tuchel may take advantage of the fact that Bellingham has been playing in the role all season.
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