Phil Foden struggled to influence proceedings in England’s 1-0 win over Serbia, leading to a heated debate between Micah Richards and Cesc Fabregas in the BBC studio.
Experts Micah Richards and Cesc Fabregas engaged in a lively soccer debate on how to unlock Phil Foden’s potential after the Manchester City star struggled again for England.
The English players kicked off their Euro 2024 journey with a bang in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, as Jude Bellingham soared into the Serbian box to nod home a powerful header past Predrag Rajkovic just 13 minutes into the game.
The goal was a fitting reward for England’s early dominance, yet the team’s performance dipped in the second half, leading to some tense moments when Serbia sought an equalizer. England managed to hold on for a 1-0 victory.
In the lead-up to the match, there was much speculation about the best way to utilize both Bellingham and Foden, given their stellar performances for Real Madrid and Manchester City this season. While Bellingham thrived in the attacking midfield role, Richards pointed out that England needs to figure out how to maximize Foden’s contributions following his lackluster showing.
Richards shared his thoughts on BBC Sport after the game, saying: “The big talking point for me tonight was Phil Foden. I think the first 20 minutes he got into some really good positions. We need to find a way to get the best out of him.”
He continued: “He wasn’t involved. At Manchester City we obviously know it’s choreographed with the system and the movements and all those sorts of things. But it makes me sad when I see a player of this quality just in and out of games.”
Fabregas highlighted the discrepancy between Foden and Bellingham’s performances, commenting: “Micah, I totally agree, but the same way that you see Jude imposing himself, wanting the ball, getting face to face against an opponent. He oozes this class. [Foden] needs to do that himself as well.”
Responding, Richards said: “I totally agree with you, but Jude, in the centre of the park, he can do that. Off the ball, [Foden] is coming from a wide position. It’s very difficult when Jude’s got the freedom of the pitch and Phil is having to go from pressing out wide, to coming in midfield. He’s playing with [Kieran] Trippier, who’s not right-footed, he needs [Luke] Shaw to go and overlap so he can get those combinations.
“It’s just sad to see because this season he’s been immense. Watch Man City every other week and the stuff that he’s doing for Man City we need to see it in an England shirt.”
Finally, Fabregas concluded the conversation by emphasizing that it is up to Foden to step up if he wants to reach his full potential with England. He added: “I love that you try to defend him, seriously, I get your point totally.
“But a player of this class, of this level, of this talent, for me sometimes, he doesn’t even need to be told by the coach what he needs to do. He needs to want it more than the rest and for me today, it showed that Jude is a little bit above him in this regard.”
