Phil Foden
Phil Foden scored a superb equaliser for Manchester City in extra-time against Al Hilal
Anybody writing the Club World Cup off as a meaningless pre-season replacement only had to look at the disappointment etched on the faces of Manchester City's players late in the Florida evening after their shock defeat to Al Hilal.
This was a tournament they desperately wanted to win and their stunning last-16 exit clearly hurt. Among those to be visibly upset at the manner of their exit, few seemed to take it as hard as .
The 25-year-old slumped to the turf at the Camping World Stadium and had to wipe tears from his eyes as the Saudi Pro League side celebrated a famous victory. Foden was disappointed at going out, but he might also have been frustrated that a positive few weeks for himself were also coming to an end.
Foden scored City's first and last goals at the Club World Cup and also found the net in the 5-2 win against Juventus. After a difficult year personally in 2024/25, he looked on the surface to be enjoying his football a little more and when he was on the pitch, he was making things happen, which wasn't the case last season.
With Kevin De Bruyne's position now vacant, Foden is putting his hand up to be front and centre of the City rebuild as their creative fulcrum in the middle of the pitch, as he often was a couple of years ago in what remains his best season. But a quirk of his tournament in the United States is that the better he got, the less Foden was used.
City left their Boca Raton base with plenty of questions and it's hard to know how much to read into Pep Guardiola's decisions during a tournament that also had to act as something of a pre-season tune-up, but he often preferred the combination of Jeremy Doku and Savinho on the wings, while new club captain Bernardo Silva came in to the midfield to start against Al Ain, Juventus and Al Hilal.
That restricted Foden to a bench role. Having played 60 minutes against Wydad AC, scoring the first and creating the second, he got 45 minutes against Al Ain, 24 minutes against Juventus, and then just 20 against Al Hilal. He only came on for the injured Rodri in the 100th minute in what was City's sixth and final change of the night.
Foden had actually gone through a fairly vigorous warm-up at half-time in the last-16 tie, at a point when City appeared to be in cruise control, but he then had to watch as others came on before him to try and change the flow of a game that had become wide open. When he was finally called on, he produced again when steering home a clever finish after a superb Rayan Cherki cross.
But Foden might be left wondering just where he fits heading into next season. The feeling is that Rodri and Tijjani Reijnders will form a midfield partnership when the Spaniard is fully fit, while Silva is now captain. That won't guarantee a start every game, but the Portuguese is clearly still a popular pick for Guardiola.
That could result in a squeezed middle, which may yet mean Foden and Cherki battling with Doku and Savinho for places out wide. It is ideal for Guardiola to have options in his squad, but some difficult decisions lie ahead.
Foden admitted to struggling at times last season, notably after the FA Cup final, when he had come on as a substitute and was unable to influence the game. In the United States, he had a smile back on his face a lot of the time, and when he was called on, he made a difference.
He will just hope that doesn't land him an impact substitute role next season, at a time when he hopes to make that attacking midfield spot his own.
Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking to subscribe.
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.
And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including and , and you can also watch along on .