Morgan Rogers came to teammate Cole Palmer's defence, saying it's a "lie" that the 24-year-old does not want to play for England.
Palmer has only been selected three times by Thomas Tuchel in the time that the German has been in charge of the England team, previously saying the Chelsea man has "missed too many chances," after pulling out of the October camp due to a minor injury.
Although Palmer was declared fit before the ongoing international break, after The Three Lions contacted Chelsea to talk to see if the attacker is available, but Tuchel still decided not to call up the attacker.
Rogers, who opened the scoring on Thursday night against Croatia, was asked about Palmer's desire to play for England on BBC Radio 5 Live post-match.
"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. People just see it as news and say the easy thing."
"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."
"If he wants to play for 10 or 15 years, he 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."
Tuchel's quotes in October had many people questioning whether Palmer's England future was in doubt, although during the early parts of Tuchel's stint, Palmer's omission from the squad was warranted due to injury, now the German wants players to show consistent physical and emotional presence in camp, such as Josh King and Jobe Bellingham, who all got a call-up this time around.
Whilst Palmer's start to the season has been impressive, contributing five goals and three assists in 12 games in all competitions this season, the England manager has made it clear that you have to be present, you have to be committed, as part of a wider push for a positive squad dynamic.
In response to Rogers' quotes, Tuchel seems to brush them off, acknowledging his player's comments about his colleague before turning his attention away from Palmer.
"It's totally fine as his teammate and I guess his friend, so why wouldn't he make an emotional statement if he did it?"
"I didn't hear it, so I will not comment on it. All I can say is I was very happy with the emotional commitment from Morgan and the physical commitment of Morgan Rogers. I think he was the standout player today offensively and defensively, and that is what matters."
Whilst Tuchel's responses regarding Palmer's absence wouldn't fill him with too much confidence in this current moment, he said, "It is not personal; he is always in our minds", so maybe there is a glimmer of hope of the Chelsea man getting back into his international manager's good books.
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