England kick off their World Cup campaign on Monday, November 21, locking horns with Iran at the Khalifa International Stadium, and Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail says Phil Foden could start for the Three Lions.
The 22-year-old has made 18 appearances for England, scoring two goals with six assists, but it will be his Premier League form this season that warranted the nod from Gareth Southgate.
England v Iran: What will the outcome be?
England to win
Draw
Iran to win
Foden has scored eight goals with three assists from 20 games for Manchester City in 2022/23 despite playing in multiple roles, so Southgate must feel he’ll provide the creativity and goal threat to help dismantle Iran.
The England international has four assists from his last nine internationals but hasn’t scored since 2020. Mokbel says Southgate wanted Foden fit to face Italy in the Euro 2020 final, so it’s clear the 52-year-old rates him highly.
England will hope to have enough to beat Iran with or without Foden, however, as they’re currently fifth in the men’s rankings and are among the favourites to win the World Cup. Iran are no slouches, sitting 20th in the rankings while making four of the last five World Cups, but they’re big underdogs.
In other news, Alex Goncalves says Bernardo Silva ‘is the star’ for Portugal not Cristiano Ronaldo
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