Morgan Rogers shares story about Chelsea's Reece James from England's first training camp under Thomas Tuchel, 'no surprise'…

Chelsea’s Reece James definitely made his mark on his return to the England squad.

On his first start for England since 2022, Chelsea captain Reece James helped his country record a 3-0 home win over Latvia on Monday night in a World Cup qualifier.

James scored an incredible free-kick against Latvia to notch his first England goal.

During this March international break, James was called up by England for the first time since 2023. His late cameo in last week’s 2-0 victory over Albania was followed up by the entire 90 minutes and a fantastic performance versus Latvia.

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Morgan Rogers not surprised by Reece James free-kick after excellence in training

Aston Villa playmaker Morgan Rogers, who made his first-ever England start in the Latvia victory, wasn’t surprised to see international teammate James fire a free-kick into the top corner.

He also revealed a training ground story from this first camp under manager Thomas Tuchel, sharing that the Chelsea captain didn’t miss a shot during a shooting drill.

When asked about James’ free-kick, Rogers told ITV Football: “It wasn’t bad, was it? We know he’s got that quality. We did a shooting session yesterday in training, and I don’t think he missed. The quality that he’s got from a defender is unbelievable. No surprise to see that went in.”

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Even thought James is a right-back by trade, he’s extremely versatile and has the technique to be comfortable wherever he’s receiving possession.

The recent pattern at Chelsea is he’s played in a central midfield role, but it was refreshing to see Tuchel stick to using him at full-back. It’s no real surprise because he thrived in that role under his management in the past at Stamford Bridge.

Back in 2019, Frank Lampard assessed James’ strengths by claiming he’s got the ability to play right-back or midfield.

Let’s hope it doesn’t get too confusing for the player if he’s constantly changing his position on the pitch.

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Second free-kick of 2025 for Reece James

We’re guessing that James has been working on his set-pieces on the training ground.

In January 2025, James scored a 95th minute free-kick against Bournemouth to salvage a 2-2 draw in a Premier League match. It was a precise low finish in stoppage time that went in off the post.

He’s now followed that up with an even better striker on the international stage in an England shirt.

Perhaps we’ll see James and Cole Palmer debating the free-kick taker in the months ahead at Chelsea.

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