Phil Foden has been out of England form especially for so long that 21 players have scored or assisted a Three Lions goal since he last did one of either.
Foden has never been able to replicate his Manchester City numbers for England, scoring four goals and assisting eight in 44 caps for his country.
He was picked for Thomas Tuchel’s first game as manager but disappointed deeply against Albania, failing to have a shot or create a chance for a teammate.
Roy Keane reckons Foden will be dropped imminently, saying: “We know he’s got that quality, usually when Foden’s at his best you’re going, ‘something’s going to happen’, even when he cuts in he picks a pass out, gets a shot away. Every time he gets the ball now I don’t expect anything from Foden at the moment. Listen, Foden won’t have that problem coming up about where he wants to play because he won’t be playing, that’s a bigger problem for him.”
The 24-year-old last scored or assisted for England in September 2023 during a win over Scotland, since which time this medley has bested him.
Harry Kane (11 goals)
None of them were legitimate goals of course, but it is also curious that Kane has not assisted for England since September 2023, the game after Foden’s most recent contribution. Obviously the captain dropped deep and displayed his exceptional passing range from the centre circle; less obviously it was for Kyle Walker to score.
**Jude Bellingham (four goals and six assists)**“It was a really good run and I just managed to find the path of the run really” is how he described that ludicrous assist for Myles Lewis-Skelly’s first England game. It’s still weird that England have a 21-year-old Real Madrid player, and that they can build their next decade around a star who might never feature in the Premier League.
**Ollie Watkins (three goals and two assists)**One of those admittedly comes to mind easier than the others; that tap-in on the line in an October 2023 friendly against Australia has gone down in England folklore. The Euro 2024 semi-final-winning strike against the Netherlands wasn’t half bad on second, third and 427th viewing.
**Declan Rice (two goals and three assists)**Often chastised as not chipping in with enough goals or assists for a £100m midfielder, Rice has increased his contributions for club and country even when unable to aim corners at giant Arsenal centre-halves.
**Jack Grealish (two goals and two assists)**There is no genuine suggestion Grealish has been hard done by with his recent England omissions but he has scored or assisted on three of his last four caps, being left out of the Euro 2024 squad in between.
**Cole Palmer (two goals and one assist)**Having emerged during this Foden drought as a theoretically better option in any of those forward positions, Palmer provided ample evidence with that sublime assist in the Euro 2024 semi-final, and wonderful finish in the final.
**Trent Alexander-Arnold (two goals and one assist)**A goal from central midfield against Bosnia, a free-kick converted against Finland as a left-back, and an assist for Kane on his 100th cap against the same opponent.
Bukayo Saka (one goal and two assists)
And what a goal it was.
**Ivan Toney (one goal and one assist)**A pre-tournament penalty against Belgium warmed Toney up wonderfully for Euro 2024, in which his spot-kick brilliance shone through in that quarter-final against Switzerland. But England might not even have reached that far were it not for the striker’s glorious headed assist for Kane’s winner against Slovakia in the previous round.
**Marcus Rashford (one goal)**“We hope for more impact in these positions. More dribbling and more aggressive runs towards the box. In general that was missing. They were not as decisive as they can be,” said Tuchel of Rashford and Foden’s performances against Albania. How he would love something similar to the former’s stunning goal against Italy in October 2023.
**Curtis Jones (one goal)**Lee Carsley’s interim reign as England manager saw eight players make their debut, compared to ten in two-and-a-half years under Glenn Hoddle. Jones marked his with a lovely little flick against Greece.
**Anthony Gordon (one goal)**England’s first new Newcastle scorer in more than six years helped sign the Carsley era off with that thrashing of Ireland.
**Conor Gallagher (one goal)**As did Atletico’s first England scorer ever.
**Jarrod Bowen (one goal)**And West Ham’s first since a pre-European champion Rice.
**Taylor Harwood-Bellis (one goal)**And Roy Keane’s future son-in-law.
**Myles Lewis-Skelly (one goal)**Will be kicked out of the WhatsApp group by David Nugent and Francis Jeffers very soon.
MORE ENGLAND REACTION FROM F365
👉 England player ratings v Albania: Foden awful, Lewis-Skelly shines and Rashford pleases everyone
👉 Kane still behind Sancho in ranking of every foreign-based England player
**Marc Guehi (two assists)**There would have been no Bellingham bicycle against Slovakia without Guehi’s near-post flick. Gallagher’s goal against Ireland would be slightly easier to erase from history.
**Noni Madueke (two assists)**Only two players have made more England U21 appearances under Carsley than Madueke, and no-one played more games of his caretaker reign. The Chelsea forward maximised the opportunity with a couple of Nations League assists.
**James Maddison (one assist)**Could not convince Gareth Southgate he was worth a place in the Euro 2024 squad, even after setting up Bellingham’s late equaliser in a friendly draw with Belgium.
**Angel Gomes (one assist)**Almost as quickly as he became the solution to England’s issues in central midfield, Gomes disappeared back into the bulging deck of cards that is the national selection pool. But he did set up a Grealish goal before he faded away, which is no mean feat.
**Morgan Gibbs-White (one assist)**The current Clamour leader if such a thing already exists under Tuchel, it felt as though Gibbs-White was going to be a fixture of squads for the foreseeable future given Nottingham Forest’s meteoric rise. The 26 substitute minutes he was afforded in September and November comprise the entirety of his England career but he did squeeze an assist for Jones in there somewhere.
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