Get free access to the most comprehensive World Cup coverage in The Athletic app.Thomas Tuchel should no longer have any reservations about who to start in the No 10 role for England.There has been plenty of debate around whether Jude Bellingham, the Real Madrid star, or Morgan Rogers, Aston Villa’s key player, will operate in attacking midfield.If the answer was not already clear, then it is now. In England’s warm-up friendlies against New Zealand and Costa Rica, Bellingham was a cut above Rogers. That is not to diminish Rogers’ talent — he is more than capable of starting for England at the World Cup, just not when Bellingham is the alternative.Coming off the bench in the first warm-up game on June 6, it took Bellingham a handful of minutes to make his mark with a beautiful pass. On Wednesday, he needed even less time, sprinting to close down Fernan Faerron after five seconds and blocking a pass.The 3-0 win over Costa Rica in Orlando was the first time Bellingham had started alongside Harry Kane, Elliot Anderson and Declan Rice, with Tuchel needing to see whether the quartet can click. And click they did.Tuchel has made clear that there is no space for passengers in his starting XI. The head coach demands intensity on and off the ball, requires his forwards to press with vigour, and wants them to love doing it.On Wednesday night, Bellingham showed he could do that alongside three of Tuchel’s guaranteed starters in Kane, Rice and Anderson.“I know what Morgan Rogers gives us there,” Tuchel said in his post-match press conference. “It was the first time for Jude (playing with Kane, Rice and Anderson). He buys into these ideas. He has to, and he loves to do it, and that’s part of our game, and he did it like everyone else on a high level.”Although Bellingham started the match in the No 10 role, he moved into Kane’s position when the striker was substituted midway through the second half, with Rogers then slotting in behind him.The experiment lasted eight minutes before Bellingham was replaced by Jarell Quansah, but Tuchel evidently liked what he saw.Jude Bellingham caught the eye in England’s 3-0 win over Costa Rica on Wednesday (Rich Storry/Getty Images)“Maybe we’ll see it (Bellingham as a centre-forward) in the tournament,” Tuchel said. “It’s easy. Jude can play as the No 9 almost like in a free role, come into midfield, drop into midfield, drop into half-spaces, start more dribbling, Harry then starts more assisting.“Jude has the personality to score, to be decisive and to arrive in the box, so it is an option to play with him and Morgan. I wanted to see that for a few minutes at least. Let’s see.”The relationship between Tuchel and Bellingham hasn’t been the most straightforward, with England’s head coach saying in June 2025 that his mother sometimes finds the player’s attitude “repulsive”, only to later apologise for those comments.But to win a World Cup, or at least better your chances of doing it, then you need your best players on the pitch.And in Bellingham, England have one of the leading stars in world football.How did Jude Bellingham fare against Costa Rica?Bellingham’s basic stats read: 40 pass attempts and 37 completed, one (excellent) chance created for Noni Madueke on the break, one tackle and four duels won from five. It was an unspectacular but efficient performance in the No 10 role.For England, the biggest positives are the flexibility that the 22-year-old provided in possession and the tenacity without it.Bellingham set the tone from kick-off, charging towards Faerron and blocking his pass forward.A few minutes in, we got the first of many shapes England experimented with across the match. Kane and Bellingham retreat almost as a front two while Anthony Gordon and Madueke stay high and wide. Reece James steps infield, with Rice dropping into the back line.From here, Gordon also comes inside from the left while Nico O’Reilly holds the width. The move results in a switch to Madueke, who is isolated against Costa Rica’s Darril Araya.A minute later, the overload England have on the right above with Bellingham, James and Madueke (not in frame) shifts to the left instead. Bellingham drifts to that wing, O’Reilly moves centrally and Gordon stays wide. A slick passing move involving all three ends in Bellingham’s shot from the edge of the box going behind via a deflection.Rice’s position right behind Bellingham is worth noting. A few minutes later, the Arsenal man opened the scoring by making a run into the box to meet Gordon’s cutback, with Bellingham and Kane occupying the other defenders.