Snubbed England star Harry Maguire has delivered his verdict on England stars Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers, insisting that Thomas Tuchel must play Bellingham for the Three Lions' World Cup opener against Croatia on Wednesday (9pm BST). Tuchel's team are looking to become the first England men's side to win a major trophy since 1966.
Group L Challenge
The Three Lions are in Group L for the tournament in North America, with matches against Ghana and Panama to follow Wednesday's match in Texas. One of the biggest debates before the Croatia fixture has been whether Bellingham or Morgan Rogers will start in the number 10 role in Tuchel's side.
It comes after Real Madrid midfielder Bellingham faced criticism recently for his performances for England. The 22-year-old has hit back, previously claiming he was made a "scapegoat" in the camp.
Maguire's Verdict
And Maguire, who was left out of the Three Lions' squad for this summer's tournament, has thrown his weight behind Bellingham - insisting that the former Birmingham City and Borussia Dortmund midfielder must play. Speaking on Gary Lineker's The Rest is Football Netflix show, he said: "Jude's gotta play. You can fit Morgan [Rogers] in elsewhere, because he's had a brilliant season, he can play left, he can play right. He's gonna make a massive difference to the team when he comes off the bench.
"But Jude's gotta play in that team, because tournaments are decided on moments, and Jude creates moments, and he creates moments himself. I always say the big games, they're decided on split seconds, and I think we've seen last tournament in the Euros. We'd have been out against Slovakia if it weren't for Jude, so he's gonna be there, he's gonna be ready. I expect a big tournament."
Maguire's Omission
Maguire revealed on Tuesday that Tuchel informed him and other snubbed England stars they had missed out on his World Cup squad over FaceTime. The Manchester United centre-back also admits to having "had words" with the Three Lions boss after his decision. The 33-year-old said: "It was a surprise. I said straight away it was a surprise. I was really disappointed, and I thought I did enough to be in the squad and help the lads out there. I thought I still had a part to play on the pitch and off the pitch. I was disappointed at the time, but the manager has made his decision, and he's gone with the 26. It's part of football and I'll move on quickly from it."
He added: "He speaks to everyone to be fair. He FaceTimes everyone, so it's quite an awkward call. I received a text around nine or ten o'clock in the morning just saying 'can I speak to you today at 4 o'clock?' I think Kobbie received the same text, Luke [Shaw] as well. He FaceTimes everybody and it's quite a unique way to do it. It's probably harder for himself to see our reactions and things like that."
Honest Conversation
"He really said he can't give me an excuse but that he's gone with the four lads that got him through the qualifying in the autumn camps. He felt like they did well during those six games but he did say that he can't really give me an excuse. Listen, that's football. It was tough to take and I did think I was going to be in the squad after the March camp and being selected for the first time under him. I felt I did well in both of the games and then went back to Manchester United and finished the season strong. I thought I did enough to be in the squad but like I said, he's made that decision. He's gone with the squad and it's a strong squad."
"I was shocked more than anything, we had a few words. I'm quite a big personality, I'm experienced but I think it was an honest conversation between us both. I was really disappointed. I wanted to go to the World Cup and play. I'm 33 now, 37 at the next World Cup looks far away. I wanted to go, not just play but I told the manager I wasn't demanding that I start the games. I would have been happy playing one minute as long as I was there with the lads. It was disappointing."
