England strolled to a 3-0 win over Costa Rica as Thomas Tuchel watched his players partake in their final friendly before the World Cup opener against Croatia on Wednesday 17th June.
Goals from Declan Rice, Anthony Gordon and Ollie Watkins sealed victory for the Three Lions, and England fans will be just as pleased to see every player emerge unscathed despite some strong challenges from Costa Rica.
However, it was not exactly the greatest night – from a selfish viewpoint at least – for Morgan Rogers as Jude Bellingham made a statement, amid question marks over his place in the side.
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Jude Bellingham shows Thomas Tuchel exactly why he deserves to start over Morgan Rogers
Rice and Elliot Anderson – who was just the subject of a £122m bid from Manchester City – appear to have the deeper two positions in central midfield nailed down, with the main question mark being in regards to who would start at the tip of the triangle in an attacking midfield position.
Rogers put his name in the mix with an outstanding season for Aston Villa, winning the UEFA Europa League and finishing fourth in the Premier League after scoring 14 goals and providing 12 assists in 55 appearances.
There were doubts over Bellingham considering Tuchel left him out of the squad altogether back in October, but the Real Madrid No.5 showed exactly why many consider him to be one of the best footballers on the planet during the 3-0 win over Costa Rica.
Sofascore shows that the Birmingham City academy graduate completed all three of his attempted dribbles and also won four of the five ground duels he was involved in.
Bellingham set the tone within just seconds of the 3-0 win with a spirited block, desperately hunting down the ball from the first whistle like his life depended on it, and also went close after an impressive dribble with a shot which flew just wide of the far post.
The 22-year-old also deserved an assist after another fine run, teeing up Eberechi Eze only for the Arsenal No.10 to see his shot elbowed away, leading to Gordon making it 2-0 from the penalty spot.
Once Rogers came on in the 63rd minute, the Aston Villa No.27 did little to outshine Bellingham.
The 23-year-old missed a sitter with only the goalkeeper to beat, sliding the ball inches wide of the post with the goal at his mercy while generally struggling to be as much of an attacking threat as Bellingham was. That is despite the fact he entered the fray after an hour against wearier opposition.
After watching Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford, who are you picking to start against Croatia and why?
Unlike Gordon, who may well have played himself into the starting XI against Croatia ahead of Marcus Rashford thanks to his fantastic display, Rogers is arguably the biggest loser from this 3-0 win as Bellingham showed Tuchel why he is simply undroppable.
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