Thomas Tuchel excluded a number of high-profile players from his most recent England squad. Jude Bellingham and Jack Grealish both stayed at home, but perhaps the player with most to worry about is Man City’s very own Phil Foden.
The 25-year-old hasn’t featured for England since an appearance in the 3-0 win over Latvia in March, in which he made come off the bench to provide the assist for Eberechi Eze’s goal, albeit a simple one.
With plenty of competition in his preferred positions, and rollercoaster club form, could Foden actually miss out on a place next year?
England’s Wealth of options
Pep Guardiola has used Foden anywhere across the front line since he broke into the Man City first team back in 2016, but it’s widely accepted that his best position is as a number ten, playing closely off the striker.
Unfortunately for him, that’s probably the position Tuchel is best stocked. Bellingham is the likely candidate to get the nod as England’s starting number ten once the tournament starts, even if he hasn’t featured in the most recent squad.
Behind him, there is the small matter of Cole Palmer. Fitness issues are the only reason he didn’t get the call this time around, and so long as his ongoing groin issues doesn’t become chronic and he plays as much has he has done since joining Chelsea, it’s hard to argue that Foden is currently better than his fellow City academy graduate.
Getting in ahead of those two is hard enough, but after them Tuchel has Eze, Morgan Rogers, Morgan Gibbs-White, and potentially Grealish, although the Everton man is more of a left-winger, at his disposal.
There is a deeper issue that England’s number tens simply don’t score enough goals. Foden has just four in his 45 international appearances, only Bellingham has more with six in 44, although these two have played significantly more than all the others.
Trying not to repeat past mistakes
England have been rightfully accused of trying to fit square pegs in round holes in the past, from sticking Paul Scholes out on the left, to help facilitate a Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrad midfield partnership, to playing Trent Alexander-Arnold as a midfielder.
Tuchel has seemingly recognised this, speaking of the importance of building a team rather than ‘collecting the most talented players’ ahead of their 3-0 friendly win over Wales on Thursday (October 9).
Asked about his decision to not pick Bellingham, Foden or Grealish, he said: “For this moment, we stick with our choice, and the radical statement is that we don’t collect the most talented players, we collect the guys who have the glue and cohesion to be the best team.
“I just watched a documentary of the New England Patriots and saw a quote that ‘we don't collect the most talented players; we build a team’.
“I cannot agree more, so that's what we're trying to do. So, we are not collecting the most talented players, we are trying to build a team. Teams win trophies, no one else.”
Up and down club form
After winning the PFA Players' Player of the Year in 2023-24 having scored 27 goals and provided 12 assists in his 53 games across all competitions, Foden had a dismal 2024-25 season, dealing with issues on and off the pitch.
It wasn’t entirely his fault; Man City as a whole were way off their usual pace after Rodri picked up his season ending ACL injury early in their campaign. Guardiola did work it out towards the end, and City ended up in third.
Foden didn’t feature much, however, playing just 244 minutes across City’s final ten Premier League games, failing to provide a single goal contribution in that time as the club somewhat rescued their season.
Now, he appears to have left all of that behind him and the joy is back in his eyes. Foden’s performance in the 2-0 Champions League win over Napoli was the best we’ve seen from him in some time.
“You cannot imagine before how we missed Phil,” Guardiola told reporters after the game.
“These two games have been the Phil we know. He played close to Erling in the year we won the fourth title (in a row), and he was the best player in the Premier League. Last season, he could not be there, but he has a sense of danger near the box, and he can score one or two goals again.
“We are so happy because I know how happy he is, and life is fine. The rest is natural, his incredible talent comes along.”
Verdict
Tuchel is clearly prioritising the team over individuals in his mission to win the World Cup. It’s unlikely the German will still be there regardless of what happens, so there is a fearlessness when it comes to making the hard choices.
Foden is returning to the form that has many suggesting he’s the best English player since Wayne Rooney, and with the competition in front of him, he better live up to the hype or be left behind.