England fans left stunned by ‘criminal’ Lee Carsley decision as Nations League squad is announced and breakout star is omitted

The interim Three Lions head coach announced his 25-man squad ahead of England’s Nations League matches against Greece and Finland this month. To many people’s surprise, Aston Villa star Morgan Rogers was left out. The likes of Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Jude Bellingham were included ahead of him but that did not stop fans lashing out on social media at the decision.

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  WHAT THE FANS ARE SAYING

  One user on social platform X, @MrFPL_, was not happy with the decision, he said: “No Morgan Rogers is criminal.”

  Another fan, @UtdSteven, agreed that Rogers should have been included in the squad. He posted: “No Morgan Rogers is a joke.”

  Some users, including @ConnorJ2399, believe the Villa man has been head and shoulders above most players listed by Carsley. He wrote: “Morgan Rogers has been better this season than 90 percent of players on that list.”

  Meanwhile, @jacktullett7 was left astonished. He said: “How does Morgan Rogers not get in this side?”

  And @ryhallnobby has suggested Carsley has not been monitoring players correctly after the rising Villan was left out. He posted: “Mainoo and Gibbs-White ahead of Rogers shows the manager hasn’t been paying attention….”

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Rogers has been at the heart of Villa’s impressive start to the season, including their recent 1-0 win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League. But while the 22-year-old has been prolific and caught the eye, Carsley has so many creative midfielders to choose from that it was always likely a few big names being left out would catch the attention of fans.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR ENGLAND?

  With Carsley’s squad now announced, players can focus on one final round of club football before jetting off to join up with their national teams. England face Greece at Wembley Stadium on October 10, before travelling to Finland three days later.