Rogers: Claim Cole Palmer is not committed to England 'is a lie'

Morgan Rogers said any suggestion that Cole Palmer is not committed to England "is a lie" and "nonsense" after Wednesday's 2-1 Uefa Nations League win over Croatia at Wembley.

Rogers, 24, made the comment about his Chelsea team-mate and childhood friend Palmer, also 24, after Palmer was omitted from Thomas Tuchel's England squad; Tuchel had said Palmer "misses too many chances to impress". Palmer withdrew from the previous England camp in September citing a minor injury and was not called up for the World Cup.

Rogers opened the scoring in the match and Harry Kane added a penalty on what was described as his record-breaking 126th England appearance. Rogers spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live about the criticism directed at Palmer following the win.

On air Rogers said: "He wants to be here. "He wanted to get called up and he wanted to come and represent his country as he always has done. "He was in quite a low place with his injuries last year and didn't feel 100% himself on the pitch, so he wants to be here and he wants to be the best version of himself."

Rogers also addressed Palmer's need to manage his fitness, saying: "But he also has to look at his body. He wants to play for 10 or 15 years, he also has to manage himself. If he has to manage himself in the short term for the greater good then he has to do that and you have to fully support it. "It has nothing to do with England or not wanting to play with England. It's a nonsense really that people are questioning someone that wants to play for England. It's a lie. "You see the joy and smile on his face, how much he loves the game, so I honestly don't get it and he doesn't get it."

In his England career Palmer has won 14 caps and scored two goals, one of which came in the Euro 2024 final defeat by Spain, and he has one assist. At club level he has scored 50 Premier League goals with 24 assists and was named England's men's player of the year for the 2023-24 season.

Despite that form, Palmer has appeared in only three of Tuchel's 27 games since the German succeeded Gareth Southgate as manager. Some sketchy form last season meant the former Manchester City player missed out on the summer World Cup, in which England went on to finish third after losing to Argentina in the semi-final.

Tuchel defended his selection policy this week, saying: "We have enough number 10s and we stick to the guys who were in the previous camp because we were happy with the two and a half weeks we had together. "I guess everyone is desperate to play for England and Cole is no exception. "We are speaking now about a player that is not in camp. It counts when you are in camp and I just said last time that he misses too many opportunities to impress." The German added: "It's not personal. We will never assume Cole is in the mindset never to come to the camp. "Cole is always in our mindset but the competition is on."

Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson invoked Tuchel's handling of Jude Bellingham as a precedent, noting that "Last October Jude Bellingham was left out of the squad for a friendly against Wales and a World Cup qualifier against Latvia." Robinson said: "You can see what Thomas Tuchel is doing when you look at what he's done with Jude Bellingham. "It was only 12 months or so that Jude Bellingham was getting left out of an England squad. Jude Bellingham was getting left out of England starting XIs. "Call it what you want, but it was management from Thomas Tuchel to make Jude Bellingham realise that he wasn't the lone star of this team. The team was the star. The team was better with Jude Bellingham in it, playing at his highest level. "There was a lesson in his management skills with Jude Bellingham and I wouldn't be surprised if he's doing the same now." The Real Madrid midfielder then ended up being a key part of the England team at the World Cup, scoring seven goals.

Kane's penalty proved the winner as England qualified for the quarter-finals.