Morgan Rogers was grateful to have long-time friend Jude Bellingham by his side as he made his England debut this week.

Rogers won his first senior caps with substitute appearances against Greece and the Republic of Ireland as England earned promotion back to the top tier of the Nations League.

The 22-year-old has known Bellingham for “pretty much most of my life” as the pair grew up in the same area of the West Midlands.

While Bellingham’s rise to stardom has been more stratospheric than Rogers’, the Aston Villa attacker is keen to remind people of their rivalry when they played youth football for Birmingham and West Brom respectively.

“We played West Brom-Blues games, all the time we played each other,” Rogers said. “He never won. Never won.

“He’s been like the little big-brother for me this week. We’ve been together quite a bit. We’ve known each other pretty much most of my life.

“He’s a friend of mine and to share that with him was a nice moment that he was here. It made it so much easier for me.

“You look up to someone like that, who is from the same area where you’re from. Being my friend, he’s someone you keep a close eye on and you want to do well.

“When you see him do so well, you can’t help but be happy for him.

“To then get an opportunity to play with him and be around him, you can’t help but just smile and take that in. It’s a nice moment.”