Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has claimed that Manchester City star Phil Foden would make it into the starting XI for Brazil and Spain at the World Cup.
Neville made his feelings known after Foden was left on the bench for England during their goalless draw with the United States of America. Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate opted to bring on Jordan Henderson, Marcus Rashford and City teammate Jack Grealish on to try and change the game but to no avail.
While Southgate would have been praised for his tactical changes if England won, the manager was criticised for being too safe and many wondered why Foden was not given an opportunity to impress.
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One of those questioning Southgate was Neville who told Sky Sports that he is a big fan of the City starlet. "I am very nervous about placing a lot of criticism at Gareth's door because of the job he has done and the respect I have for him," he explained.
"I still trust that Gareth will get it right but I am struggling with Foden a little bit. Just because I think he is our best player in the country by a mile and I said it at half-time last night, Phil Foden is a generational talent.
"I feel as though he has to play and he has to be played into form and it has to work with England. I went through my career with England where I felt at times Paul Scholes was mishandled and I woke up this morning thinking: 'Has something happened in training, has something happened off the pitch, has something happened that means Gareth is not seeing what he wants to see.'
"Gareth has not answered the question after the game that Phil Foden is not a player who plays in those midfield positions, those number ten roles like [Jude] Bellingham and [Mason] Mount. That would mean last night, Phil Foden was our fifth-choice wide player for England.
"You have [Bukayo] Saka and [Raheem] Sterling and then you have Grealish and Rashford, I like all four of those but I have to say our two number tens, Bellingham and Mount, and the four I have just named, Foden is the star amongst all of them.
"Phil Foden is an amazing football player. He plays for Pep Guardiola's Manchester City and I think he would play in the Argentina, Brazil, French, Spanish and German team in their starting XIs."
Foden will get an opportunity to impress again between now and Tuesday when England play their last Group B match of the tournament against Wales.
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