Pep Guardiola said that “no one in the world” could deny Phil Foden’s quality and urged Manchester City’s playmaker to push himself to be recalled by Thomas Tuchel for England after he scored twice in the 4-1 home Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday.
Foden’s sumptuous strikes, on 22 and 57 minutes, were complemented by a rasping first-half finish from Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki’s late goal. Waldemar Anton netted a consolation for the visitors as City moved into fourth in the 36-team league phase table with 10 points from four matches.
Foden was omitted by Tuchel for England’s games against Wales and Latvia last month, and the manager’s team next play Serbia on 13 November and Albania on 16 November. Guardiola was asked about Foden being recalled.
“There’s no person in this country, no one around the world, that doesn’t know his quality and ability,” said the manager. “But England is so lucky to have a mountain of good players – so in this position, there are a lot, and that’s why Phil has to push himself to be better and better.
“He has to say: ‘OK, I’m going to show how good I am.’ Thomas knows perfectly how good Phil is and I’m sure he will do the best for your country.”
Guardiola believes Foden has now returned to the top of his form. “This season, he’s back, yeah,” the Catalan said. “When Phil is at that level, when playing between the lines, in the pockets, his first contact, his turn, [he is very good] and after his generosity, running and fighting.
“He’s a special player, but we need his goals, definitely. And today he makes, hopefully, the first step to do it [consistently] before the big match on Sunday.”
That is Liverpool’s visit to the Etihad Stadium, of which Guardiola said: “It’s a top team. It was last season with Arne Slot – they won the Premier League and bought a lot of players.
“Of course it’s a surprise [they] lost a lot of games in a row. To be honest I’m so excited and happy to prepare for the game – I’m looking forward desperately to play on Sunday again, against Liverpool, and we’ll see what happens.”
Foden said: “I’m loving it. I just need to play with a smile on my face, which I’m doing. Last year was tough, not just for myself but for everyone. There is a new togetherness this season and you can tell.”
