Morgan Rogers: English media react to Aston Villa star's cameo vs Croatia as full stats emerge
Aston Villa forward Morgan Rogers appeared off the bench as England beat Croatia 4-2 in their World Cup opener on Wednesday.
Harry Kane scored twice as the Three Lions got off to the perfect start in Dallas, with Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford adding second-half strikes to cancel out goals from Martin Baturina and Peter Musa.
Thomas Tuchel's side now find themselves in control of group L, with clashes against Ghana and Panama to take place next week.
Rogers would have hoped to start for England, but made a positive impression when he appeared off the bench in the 72nd minute.
The Villa forward has been plunged into transfer speculation this summer amid reported strong interest from Premier League champions Arsenal, but any potential movement will likely have to wait.
The Villans will hope, in any event, that the coming weeks serve as yet more evidence to stick behind a significant price tag.
English media react to Morgan Rogers' display
For Tuchel, Rogers likely represents the perfect impact substitution for this World Cup, and he showed exactly why on Wednesday.
As soon as he came on, the 23-year-old was trying to make things happen going forward, winning duels and carrying the ball into the opposition half.
His highlight moment was a move on the right side of midfield that saw him play a perfectly-weighted ball through to Djed Spence before the defender was denied by Dominik Livakovic.
In just 18 minutes on the pitch, Rogers would create two chances, complete a tackle, make two recoveries, win three duels and earn a free-kick.
The Guardian gave the forward a six out of 10 for his cameo, and praised his "great ball" for Spence, while BBC Sport shared a similar summary.
The Metro also gave Rogers a six out of 10 for some "eye-catching moments", and that rating was also given by The Independent.
Can Aston Villa keep hold of Rogers?
On paper, Villa are in the strongest possible position to fight off the interest in Rogers this summer.
The forward had a superb Premier League season and is under contract until 2031, with transfer chiefs well within their rights to demand an astronomical fee.
Discussion surrounding the fee that would see Elliot Anderson move to Manchester City this summer is currently featuring around the £125million mark, and Villa may well look to use that as a benchmark.
Where issues may emerge, is if Rogers himself decides that he wants to push for a move this summer. Until that happens, Villa remain in a strong position, but it cannot be ruled out.