Gary Neville labels Bellingham “a star, not a sub” as England prepare for World Cup | OneFootball

Ollie Whitmore, Chief football news reporter

Sky Sports Football pundit Gary Neville pressed that England midfielder Jude Bellingham “is not a sub”, adding to the debate as to who Thomas Tuchel should start in the number 10 position at the World Cup.

In an interview with The Telegraph, the Manchester United legend voiced his preference for Real Madrid’s number five over Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers, both of whom had 45 minutes in the Three Lions’ warm-up game against New Zealand.

Bellingham, still just 22 years old, will feature at his fourth international tournament for England after notching four goals and six assists in Los Blancos’ trophyless campaign, while Rogers registered 16 goal involvements in 2025/26.

Neville said: “I love Morgan Rogers – love him. But let’s be clear, Jude Bellingham is not a sub. He’s a star. That’s it. He’s a star.”

The Villa star played the entirety of a low-energy first half between England and the World Cup’s lowest-ranked side, creating two chances and completing 18 of his 22 total passes for a success rate of 82% overall.

Bellingham then replaced him after the break in a like-for-like change, in turn fuelling the ongoing debate as to who should start, completing all of his 32 passes and one dribble despite skying a shot high over the bar late on.

The La Liga midfielder also won over two thirds of his ground duels against New Zealand, who found it very challenging to shrug one of world football’s most industrious players off of the ball.

Rogers has also enjoyed a successful season and, unlike Bellingham, ended it with a piece of silverware as Unai Emrey’s team lifted the Europa League following a dominant 3-0 victory over Bundesliga side Freiberg in the final.

The 27-year-old was an instrumental part to a fifth triumph for Emrey, the competition’s most decorated manager, registering eight goal involvements – just over a quarter of Aston Villa’s leading total in the competition.

It is also worth noting that Rogers has been utilised as a winger by Villa and England, and is capable of playing both on the left and right hand side, which depending on how others perform may leave Bellingham unchallenged.

La Liga runners up Madrid ended an uninspiring campaign eight points behind El Clásico rivals Barcelona, led by Hansi Flick.

The former England international also believes that holding midfielders Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson, tipped by many fans to start alongside one another, must have “world-class summers” if England are to end 60 years of hurt.

Neville said this will be Tuchel’s “biggest job”, adding they must be “protecting the back four” at all times.

England kick-start their World Cup campaign against Croatia on Wednesday the 17th of June in Kansas City at 21:00 (GMT), before facing fellow Group L opponents Panama and Ghana later in the tournament.

Who should start in the number 10 for the Three Lions? Let us know in the comments.