England kickstart their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign tonight as they face off against Croatia as they hope to make their third final in four major tournaments.
One man still fighting for a spot in Thomas Tuchel’s starting 11 this tournament is former Lincoln City loanee Morgan Rogers.
He joined the Imps in January 2021 as they went on to reach the SkyBet League One play off final under head coach Michael Appleton.
There they lost out to Blackpool and both Appleton and the Manchester City star would go on to work together at the Tangerines in the following season.
But just how did the East Midlands club give the 23-year-old the stepping stone to reach the States this summer?
It became very much clear that despite Rogers’ very strong season with the Imps, that he was far from the finished article and the attacker had a very promising career ahead.
He operated off the left hand side in the majority of his games with the now EFL Championship side as he went on to record six goals and two assists in 28 league games.
Before joining the Imps Rogers spoke on his development with the Citizens and said: “I feel like I’ve developed in being more reliable on the ball.
“It is about being more mature in the way you play and using your brain a bit more. In academy football, you can make the same mistakes and not much will happen.
“In first-team football, that’s not a mistake you can make because there are three points on the line.”
Appleton trusted that maturity beyond his age giving him the responsibility to drift around the pitch, cutting inside from the left to pick up the ball and make things happen.
That freedom earned him the sides Young Player of the Season award and a move up to the Championship with recently relegated AFC Bournemouth.
However, there he struggled for game time saying that he had lost his identity before he was recalled in January and joined up with Appleton once again at eventually relegated Blackpool.
Now after progressing through the Championship with Middlesborough, he recently became a European Champion with Aston Villa in his third season at the club.
That has led to links of a potential £100 million move away from Villa Park as he competes with fellow Birmingham born Jude Bellingham to become England’s starting number ten at the ongoing World Cup.
That positional transition shows how Rogers was always perfectly capable of applying himself in the right way even in his younger years at Lincoln City.
That maturity, positional discipline and general likeness was always there to see alongside his natural ability and that’s what has allowed him to get to where he is today.
Perhaps the thing that sums that up perfectly is his relationship with his positional rival, as he was joined by Bellingham on England’s Lions Den, he said: “We’re like brothers.”
Lincoln City helped develop Rogers’ tactical nous, goalscoring instinct and ability to fit into first team football.
But everyone always knew from the off that the 23-year-old was destined for the top, but he’s not done yet as he vows for spot in the starting 11.