As Phil Foden finally made the long trudge, from almost the far corner of Old Trafford to the tunnel by the Stretford End, the temptation was to say that, with Thomas Tuchel and his assistant Anthony Barry present, it was a particularly bad time to be sent off.
And so it was. Just not for any reasons related to England. Tuchel will finalise his squad for four Nations League games against Spain, Czechia and Croatia. But Foden was never likely to be in it. The German had three No 10s in his World Cup squad, in Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze. Since then, another, Morgan Gibbs-White, has started the season well and one more, Cole Palmer, quite brilliantly. A player without a goal in 2026 was hardly likely to make the cut in the position where England have most competition for places.
