Tuchel admits it’s Bellingham v Rodgers for England spot – but who is his best No.10?

Thomas Tuchel primarily wants Jude Bellingham or Morgan Rodgers to play No.10 in his England team, so it’s time to decide who his best option is.

Real Madrid superstar Bellingham Last four spent England Fixtures sat at home. A shoulder injury and then a lack of minutes kept him out, but the 22-year-old is one of the best assets available to Tuchel and already has 44 Three Lions appearances under his belt, which was never long until he returned.

That is the case now, and Tuchel has suggested he is essentially in a fight with the Aston Villa star Rogers For the No.10 spot – both men’s preferred position – Willan has since started England’s last three games, scoring and assisting.

Tuchel has said ahead of England’s next fixture, with the World Cup on the horizon: “Instead of looking for the best players to just be in position, it’s better for them to be at their best and compete. At the moment the competition is between them (Bellingham and Rodgers).

“They are friends, it can be a friendly competition. They don’t have to be enemies, they don’t have to hate each other. They are respected, they are friends and they can fight for the position. Can they play together? Yes, but in a different structure. Now is not the time to change our structure.”

And so it’s time to take a deep dive into the stats to see who is England’s best option to play No.10, using fbref.

Bellingham scored 14 goals and assisted 14 last season, compared to 14 Villa goals and 16 assists for Rodgers, but this season’s stats are most relevant with the World Cup coming to an end.

Rodgers has played 11 games compared to eight for Bellingham, so the comparison, while not exact, is fairly fair.

From 17 shots this season, Bellingham put 10 on target and scored twice. Rodgers has scored once on 12 shots, and six are on target. But Rodgers has two assists to Bellingham’s one.

Per 90 minutes, that equates to 0.09 goals for Rodgers and 0.38 for Bellingham, with very similar assist stats – 0.18 compared to 0.19.

Bellingham’s XG is also higher than Rodgers has ever been – 2.4 compared to 0.7.

Bellingham has also been a better passer – completing 202-for-233 passes, with an 85.7 accuracy percentage, over 70.6.

Per 90 minutes, Bellingham produces 5.91 shot-creating steps, which is streets ahead of Rodgers’ 1.94.

Rodgers has had more contact with the ball but his successful take-on percentage is 34.3 percent, compared to Bellingham’s 42.1 percent.

But Villa has been helping more defensively than Bellingham’s four, and has intercepted the ball seven times compared to Bellingham’s four, although he has completed two fewer tackles.

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In club football, at least going forward, Bellingham looks like the favorite over Rodgers, despite the fact that he plays in a higher quality team.

In any case, Rodgers only played 10 games for England, not a large enough sample size to properly compare him with Bellingham in international football.

However, Rodgers only has two goal contributions in those 10 games, while Bellingham has 20 in 44, suggesting he’s more offensive.

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