Butt Backs Tuchel to Drop England Stars and Tips Rogers to Shine
Nicky Butt has never been one to tiptoe around a subject. He doesn’t start now.
The former England midfielder believes Thomas Tuchel will be ruthless at the 2026 World Cup – and that Jude Bellingham’s starting place is anything but guaranteed, with Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers looming as a genuine threat.
Butt is convinced Tuchel will not hesitate to axe any underperforming heavyweight, even the Real Madrid poster boy.
“[Harry] Kane, [Declan] Rice, [Bukayo] Saka and [Jude] Bellingham are the superstars,” he told Paddy Power, “but Morgan Rogers could be the one that really stands out.”
Bellingham under pressure, Rogers on the rise
Bellingham arrives at the tournament with questions hanging over him. His season in Spain was fractured: a shoulder problem, then a hamstring injury, broke up his rhythm and kept him out for long stretches. He still clocked 40 appearances in all competitions, starting 30 of them, but this was not the relentless, surging Bellingham of previous campaigns.
Rogers, by contrast, has the wind at his back.
The 23-year-old is coming off a breakout year in which Aston Villa lifted the Europa League trophy and finished fourth in the Premier League. Across those two competitions he delivered 13 goals and 11 assists, numbers that have forced his way into the national conversation.
His England role is no longer a novelty, either. Since making his debut in 2024, he has featured in 13 of the team’s 14 matches. That consistency, Butt argues, is no accident.
Rogers, he says, is tailor-made for Tuchel.
“Rogers is a [Thomas] Tuchel kind of player, he likes him a lot in that number ten role,” Butt explained. “He can score goals from outside the box. Lots of World Cup goals come from outside the box because teams sit deep around the box.”
The message is clear: if Bellingham stutters, Rogers is waiting.
“It’ll depend on how Jude Bellingham starts the tournament,” Butt said. “If he starts the tournament on fire, then it's different. But if he's not on the ball or Harry Kane needs to be coming or he’s not scoring goals… there’s always one in every tournament that stands out. You might not think about them in that way but they just become players on a whole new level.”
“He’s got the X-factor”
Butt’s admiration for Rogers goes beyond a tactical fit. He sees a player with the timing and temperament to explode on the biggest stage.
“I think Rogers has got the X-factor,” he said. “He scores goals, he started to come really good towards the end of the season. He started the season on fire, he had a bit of a blip but then he came again.”
That resilience matters in tournament football. Games are tight, roles change quickly, and impact off the bench can define careers.
“I've got a sneaking feeling that he could come off the bench a few times and score some really important goals,” Butt added. “He could be the difference in a lot of games.
“I think the starting XI picks itself and he won’t get in straight away. But if Bellingham's not flying, one thing about Tuchel is that he doesn't give a f*ck about player egos or the perception. If Bellingham, for example, is not playing well, he'll take him out of the firing line and put Rogers straight in.
“You could then see someone who could become England's best player in the tournament, he's got that much ability. People can go in as a bit-part player and come out being a superstar. It's happened with so many players over the years.”
The warning for Bellingham is implicit. The opportunity for Rogers is glaring.
England’s brutal reality: heat, hype and a manager on the line
For all his excitement about Rogers, Butt is far less bullish about England’s overall prospects.
He fears the conditions and the country’s expectations will collide with a young squad still learning its way.
“I personally think it would be a success to get to the final stages – the semi or the final,” he said. “But even then, with our expectations as a nation, I think even a semi might be seen as a failure.
“I don't think it would be. We’ve got a young squad, it's going to take time. I can't see us winning it. With the conditions over there, the heat and humidity, all the travel, it just doesn't seem possible. I'm not confident.”
The bar, though, remains high. And the potential fallout, brutal.
“A failure for me would be obviously not getting out of the group stages,” Butt continued. “If we don't get to the semi, some would see that as a big failure especially with all the talent that we've got and because of those that we’ve left at home.”
He rattles off the names. Phil Foden. Cole Palmer. Harry Maguire. Trent Alexander-Arnold. All omitted, all high-profile, all ready-made lightning rods if things go wrong.
“They’re out of form but he’s not picked Phil Foden, not picked Cole Palmer, not picked Harry Maguire or Trent Alexander-Arnold. So if we don’t get to the latter stages, the finger will be pointed straight at Thomas Tuchel.
“If that happens I think he'd be gone. Both from The FA side and he'd be gone personally as well. He'll want to get back into club football, he looks like a real club football manager, day to day he wants to be involved in it. Obviously the England job came along, it's a massive job, it's one of the biggest jobs in the world. But if it's not a success, I think both parties will want to part ways.”
Tuchel, then, is managing not just a squad, but his own future.
Brazil, Argentina, Spain – and a daunting path
Butt’s concerns stretch beyond England’s own camp. He believes the environment in North America will tilt the tournament towards sides better conditioned for the heat.
“I honestly do think because of the conditions and the heat and the humidity, it’s going to be really tough,” he said. “We could play Mexico in Mexico City in the last 16.”
That prospect alone underlines the scale of the task.
“It'd be crazy not to look at Brazil or Argentina as favourites,” Butt added. “Obviously Brazil aren't the team that used to be with Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos. They've not got superstar names like that, or as many.
“Spain are the favourites and you can see that as they can handle the hit and they'll have a big following. I could see that they'd be there or thereabouts, but for me I've just got Brazil and Argentina stuck in my head. I just think it'll be them.”
So England head into 2026 with a superstar under scrutiny, a rising playmaker on the brink, and a head coach who, in Butt’s eyes, will happily tear up reputations if performances sag.
If Tuchel really is ready to ignore egos, the question isn’t just whether England can survive the heat and the hype – it’s whether this World Cup becomes the making of Morgan Rogers, and the moment the old hierarchy finally shifts.
