England opened the FIFA Days in November with a 2-0 home win over Serbia in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Europe. This victory helped Harry Kane and his teammates secure a ticket straight to the final round next summer. The match against Albania tonight is just a formality.
Despite the win over Serbia and not conceding a goal, the performance of Thomas Tuchel and his team has not really reassured the "Three Lions" fans. After Bukayo Saka's opening goal (minute 28), it was not until the 90th minute that they were able to score the second goal thanks to Eberechi Eze.
In the match at Wembley 2 days ago, Tuchel arranged a 4-2-3-1 formation with Morgan Rogers playing right behind the main striker Harry Kane. This was a very hard-working day for the Aston Villa star. Rogers needs to prove that he can play as a 'number 10' to compete with his other teammates. However, despite his efforts, the 23-year-old striker has not left a strong impression.
The competition for the "number 10" position of the England team is a double match between Morgan Rogers and Jude Bellingham. Before the match against Serbia, captain Thomas Tuchel himself also talked about this issue. The German coach said that the players in the team need to know who they are competing for positions with to make more efforts. According to Tuchel, this is a way to be transparent in choosing positions and personnel for the 2026 World Cup, avoiding unnecessary conflicts in the dressing room.
Speaking of the 'number 10' position, according to Tuchel's arrangement, either Rogers, or Bellingham will start. Last season, Bellingham was in poor form because they played and suffered at the same time. The Real Madrid midfielder has just undergone surgery and is gradually regaining his form. However, the starting position in the match against Serbia still belongs to Rogers.
Rogers has been in the England starting lineup since the 2-0 win over Andorra on 6 September. He was then involved in the 5-0 win over Serbia in Belgrade. It was Rogers' best match under Tuchel. He continued to shine in the following two matches against Wales and Latvia.
Therefore, it would be disrespectful for Rogers if Tuchel left him out of the starting lineup just because Bellingham has returned. However, the presence of the Real Madrid midfielder will make Rogers feel more difficult because he has an extremely strong opponent to compete for a position. With no other choice, Rogers was forced to shine consistently like the 5-0 win over Serbia.
The 2-0 win over Serbia was the best time for Rogers to prove it, but he couldn't do it. The Villa star was substituted by Bellingham himself with 25 minutes left. When Bellingham came on and showed his skills, he showed his worth as expected. The shoulder injury that has plagued the midfielder for more than a year seems to have no impact.
England's second goal was scored by Eze with assistver Foden. Before that, Foden himself received the ball from Bellingham. All three players have not started, so this goal is an affirmation of the competition they are ready to face to play from the start at the 2026 World Cup.
The England team has completed its mission of winning tickets to the 2026 World Cup, every remaining matches in the European qualifiers and the FIFA Days in March 2026 are just training matches, thereby making it easier for Thomas Tuchel to experiment more.
If Bellingham starts tonight, it is not uncommon and he needs to seize that opportunity to keep this position from now until the 2026 World Cup takes place.
