Morgan Rogers is the only Chelsea player in Thomas Tuchel’s latest England squad. Cole Palmer continues to be excluded from the squad. This will be a blow for the Stamford Bridge faithful, given that he has been in excellent form under Xabi Alonso. He has five goals and three assists in 11 games this season, scoring a penalty in their 2-0 win against Manchester United last weekend.
However, he has struggled with injuries for England. He missed out on the World Cup squad back in May and pulled out of the combined September–October camp with fitness problems.
Meanwhile, Rogers has firmly established himself in Tuchel’s plans. He played for England at the World Cup, where they came third, and has continued his form in his first season in West London. He has 10 goal contributions this season, two more than his Chelsea teammate.
Jobe Bellingham earns his first senior call-up after an impressive run for Borussia Dortmund, meaning he will link up with his older brother Jude. Josh King also makes his first call-up after a strong season for Fulham. Declan Rice and Ben White return for Arsenal, and Phil Foden is again left out. Palmer will have another chance to push for a place in the squad next time around if he remains fit and continues to perform for Alonso.
England host Croatia at Wembley on Thursday, November 12, before heading to Madrid to take on world champions Spain three days later. Tuchel’s team currently sit second in Group A3, having won three of their four games so far, and they need just a point from their game against Croatia to progress to the quarter-finals.
Rogers And Palmer Partnership Helps Turn Around Chelsea Under Alonso
Rogers joined from Aston Villa in July for a British transfer record fee of £117 million. He signed a seven-year deal at Stamford Bridge, and Palmer, a close friend from his time in Manchester City’s academy, reportedly helped persuade him to move.
This partnership has worked well for Alonso. Rogers scored on his league debut in a 3-2 win at Fulham in August. He then set up three goals in 10 minutes as they thrashed Leeds 6-3 in the League Cup. Palmer scored twice in the game after coming on at half-time.
Rogers has four goals and four assists in his first eight games, and Alonso praised his goal in October’s 5-1 win against Bournemouth. The Blues will be hoping both their English attackers return fit from the break, although only Palmer will be frustrated by missing out on England.