Rogers 'honoured' to play at World Cup

Morgan Rogers was delighted to make his tournament debut at the FIFA World Cup 2026 in England’s 4-2 win over Croatia on Wednesday.

The Aston Villa star replaced Declan Rice in the second half with around 20 minutes of the contest remaining and it was a moment to remember for Rogers.

“I wish I could take it in,” he said. “I probably took it in more on the bench than when you’re playing and the way the game was going and them trying to push to get an equaliser.

“You’re in the thick of it, you’re running around, you’re trying to get breath, you’re trying to get your second wind from somewhere.

“I think it’ll probably sink in later that I’ve made my debut in the World Cup which is something I always dreamed of and always wanted to achieve.”

The 23 year old was full of praise for Jude Bellingham who made the scoresheet, restoring the Three Lions’ lead.

The pair go way back – long-standing childhood friends that grew up together in the West Midlands, representing England at youth level together before both graduating to the senior setup.

“Jude’s one of the best players in the world,” he continued. “If we’re going to do well at this tournament, he’s going to have to be at the forefront of it.

“If I’m on the bench and the manager asks me to do a role to come on and impact the game, that’s what I’m going to do.

‘I’m honoured to be here and I wanted to be here to play any part that I can to get on the pitch and to try and give my all and what that looks like of me as a player.

“I think it’s the most important thing to try and add to the team in any way, shape or form to try and get points.”

Harry Kane netted a double to draw level with Gary Lineker as England’s joint top scorer at the World Cup and Rogers spoke of just how much he enjoys playing with the Three Lions skipper.

“To just try and play off him, he’s got so many amazing qualities,” he explained.

“He’s probably not a typical striker that stays up there and is on the last line. He’s got the ability to drop deep to create as well as score.

“We have set patterns and set rules that we implement as a team because we know his qualities and we want to use all the qualities he’s got because they’re amazing. I just try and feed off that and try and use my strengths to his strengths.”

England are back in action against Ghana on Tuesday 23 June (9pm BST kick-off) and the Three Lions are gearing up to their game in Boston next week.

“I think the games have been quite competitive and quite tight,” said Rogers. “I think it’s been a really good World Cup so far.

“The big teams are always going to impress and shine early in. It’s about who can be more consistent going on. We’ve got to just keep focusing on ourselves and keep going.”