Palmer, Foden, Bellingham and Rogers stats compared and England must put faith in one man

With the official England 2026 World Cup squad leaving some huge names at home, Thomas Tuchel has revealed he had to make tough phone calls to cut it down to two 'number tens'.

The days of Southgate bringing in the best talent that England has to offer and shoehorning them into a slapdash formation are behind us, as Thomas Tuchel has outlined that his intention is to have two players in each role, except for the goalkeepers.

With that, the two number tens on the plane are Real Madrid star boy Jude Bellingham and recent Europa League winner Morgan Rogers.

This meant that attacking midfielders like Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, and Morgan Gibbs-White have been omitted.

But, taking a look at the stats, did he make the right choice?

Rogers is the man if England want goals

Out of the four main figures in contention for the England squad, Thomas Tuchel appears to have weighted goals, just as much as he has personalities.

It's been the biggest criticism of England for a decade, with midfielders struggling to get in among the goals ever since the Sterling-Lingard-Alli era came to a close.

Morgan Rogers pipping Palmer and Foden proves Tuchel wants goals, as the Villa man is the leading goal scorer from the four, in league games this season.

And while there's an argument that 'form is temporary, class is permanent', when discussing the likes of Palmer, Rogers actually has more league goal involvements over the last two seasons combined (34 G/A, compared to Palmer's 33).

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Not only is he a bigger goal threat, but Rogers has been more forward-thinking with his passes, made the second-most big chances, and leads the stats in touches in the final third.

He simply loves the ball, and having played a lot of football this year, he will be in peak condition to alternate with Bellingham in the baking North American heat.

Bellingham shines in possession

Having been the main man for England at the past two tournaments, it was almost certain that Bellingham would be on the plane.

With unrivalled running power that will become paramount in the hot conditions, the fluid connection with Harry Kane will be crucial to the Three Lions' success in the World Cup.

But where he really excels above the others is how he cares for the ball.

In tournament football, when England will need to conserve energy with the ball at their feet, Bellingham's retention will be massive for Tuchel's side.

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At the top of the tree for passing accuracy, both short and long, the change in dynamics that Bellingham offers will spread opponents far and wide, before breaking into the box with a Lampard-like arrival.

It's worth noting that both Foden and Palmer are inches away from Bellingham in their short passing capabilities, and far ahead of Rogers, but it could be a case of allowing Jude to run his opponents into the ground before unleashing Rogers to capitalise on tired legs and find crucial spaces around the edge of the box, where he's proven to be clinical.

Foden's creativity could be a big miss

Although he's been regularly sidelined from the Manchester City squad - so much so that he's been linked with moves away from the Etihad to revitalise his career - Foden's creativity is not to be underestimated.

In fact, his five assists are the second-highest of the four this season, epitomised by the immediate impact he had in his last start for City, slipping in Semenyo with a beautiful backheel.

The ostracised player even created the most chances, by a huge margin, despite playing nearly half of the minutes of Rogers. His 51 chance involvements show how wasteful City has been, but knowing Kane's ruthlessness for England, this edge-of-the-box creativity will be missed.

When it comes to the numbers, it's also obvious why Palmer hasn't made it, failing to lead any of the major statistics, even if he is known for ice-cold nerves in the biggest of games.

But on numbers alone, Rogers and Bellingham are the right choice, unless you consider Palmer a right-winger and Foden on the left...