Phil Foden's performances are getting plenty of scrutiny this month at Euro 2024, as a lacklustre England struggle for a system that gets the best out of their talented players.
"The key for Phil is where he ends up, not his starting position," said Gareth Southgate in May, hoping to end months of debate over Phil Foden 's position heading into Euro 2024.A third sluggish England performance saw the Three Lions somehow stumble into the knockout stages of the Euros as group winners, but the frustration is rife from the stands and in the TV studios.
For Southgate to truly get the best out of Foden, he needs to take a leaf out of Pep Guardiola's playbook, and not by saying simple things like the above quote. It's all well and good pointing out that Foden can be effective coming inside from the wing, but he needs the support from his manager to be effective in the middle when he does that.
For a start, when coming inside, Foden has either De Bruyne or Bernardo Silva to rotate with, or sometimes Julian Alvarez. Those players know when to cover Foden's position, move slightly wide to create a dual No.10 system or drop deeper as the formation adapts. Also key to the system working was Kyle Walker when Foden started on the right.
With Walker and John Stones in the line-up, there is a back-line fully capable of switching to a three when one advances. There are all the ingredients and similar players to replicate the City system, but a stubbornness not to. As Wayne Rooney said: England are playing like City without the timing or tact.
England Football Team Phil Foden Pep Guardiola
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