England were held to a 0-0 draw by USA on Friday evening and only managed three shots on target over the 90 minutes, so Micah Richards can’t believe Phil Foden wasn’t introduced from the bench.
Jude Bellingham, Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane failed to create a chance at Al Bayt Stadium, but Gareth Southgate still didn’t bring on the 22-year-old.
Instead, Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford replaced Sterling and Buyako Saka in the second half. Richards says Southgate made a ‘massive mistake’ leaving Foden out entirely.
He said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “When we talk about creative midfielders, who’s the first player who comes to mind? It’s Foden. (Mason) Mount wasn’t having his great game (and) we couldn’t get the passing quick enough, (but) we’ve got one of our most talented players on the bench.
“I don’t understand it. How many times have we seen (him) get into those little pockets of space and make something happen? For him to not come on the pitch today was a massive mistake.” Foden didn’t start in England’s opening World Cup clash either, so the 22-year-old must be annoyed at Southgate.
Foden has amassed just 19 minutes of football for England at the World Cup in Qatar and may not start their final group game against Wales at this rate. The 22-year-old is one of the best players in the squad and certainly the most technically gifted, but Southgate doesn’t consider him good for his system.
Foden has scored eight goals with three assists from 20 games in all competitions for City this season and boasts two goals with six assists from 19 games for the Three Lions. He’s a brilliant playmaker but is underappreciated on the international stage.
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