Declan Rice and Arsenal’s leading summer target Morgan Rogers both started for England in Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina, with the two sides goalless at half-time in Atlanta.
According to live coverage from Sky Sports and FIFA’s official match centre, Rice lined up in a double pivot alongside Elliot Anderson, while Rogers started in England’s attacking three just behind Harry Kane at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Aston Villa forward’s involvement carries extra interest for Arsenal supporters given his club’s continued pursuit of the 23-year-old this summer.
Messi And Alvarez Give Argentina’s Attack Its Edge
Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez started together for Argentina, who were unable to find a way past an England defence marshalled by John Stones and Marc Guehi in a physical opening 45 minutes. Live coverage from Sky Sports and ESPN pointed to Stones’ header from a free-kick, which drifted just wide, as the closest either side came to breaking the deadlock.
The winner will face Spain in Sunday’s final after the tournament favourites beat France 2-0 in Tuesday’s opening semi-final. Rice arrives at the game off the back of an Arsenal season that delivered the club’s first Premier League title in 22 years, having been confirmed fit to start earlier this week.
For Arsenal, a big semi-final stage for Rogers is unlikely to cool interest in a player Aston Villa are currently valuing at around £130million, with Mikel Arteta still working to bring in a new attacker before pre-season begins in earnest.
