England manager Thomas Tuchel has explained his decision to start Morgan Rogers ahead of Noni Madueke and Bukayo Saka in the World Cup semi-final against Argentina. The Three Lions made three changes from the quarter-final victory over Norway, with Rogers, Reece James, and Djed Spence coming into the side.
Tuchel's Gut Feeling
Speaking to BBC Sport before kick-off, Tuchel said: "Because it's a feeling, just a feeling from the coach, a stomach feeling. I feel he has something special to give today, I felt he was very strong in the last match against Norway and in between that he's had outstanding training sessions to follow up on that performance. It's just a feeling."
Rogers, who has been linked with a summer move to Arsenal, starts in an unfamiliar right-wing position, while Madueke drops to the bench after a poor first-half performance against Norway in the quarter-finals. Madueke had started four games at the tournament but was replaced by Saka at half-time against Norway. However, Saka also misses out on the starting XI for the semi-final.
Full-Back Changes
Tuchel also justified the inclusion of Reece James and Djed Spence at full-back, saying: "They are specialists and they deserve to play. Reece is back and has the quality to play at the very highest level, shows no nerves. We want the agility and speed of Djed who was strong in the last matches from the bench. We need the full-backs involved in the attack."
James and Spence both impressed off the bench in the quarter-final win over Norway, leading to their starts against Argentina. Ezri Konsa and Nico O'Reilly are the other players to make way from the starting lineup.
