ENFIELD, ENGLAND - MARCH 20: Thomas Tuchel, Head Coach of England, talks to Phil Foden of England during a training session at Tottenham Hotspur Training Centre on March 20, 2025 in Enfield, England. (Photo by Eddie Keogh - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
ENFIELD, ENGLAND - MARCH 20: Thomas Tuchel, Head Coach of England, talks to Phil Foden of England during a training session at Tottenham Hotspur Training Centre on March 20, 2025 in Enfield, England. (Photo by Eddie Keogh - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)
New era, same problem.
Phil Foden was the designated scapegoat when England beat Albania on Friday without the bombastic team performance many had hoped for in Thomas Tuchel's first game. A win is a win, and England have hired Tuchel to win at all costs rather than just play for the shirt.
But England fans by their nature need something to moan about. It's in our blood. And Manchester City man Foden is the perfect candidate this season, especially when Tuchel zeroed in on him post-match.
“Both our wingers who started were not as impactful as they can be in club football," Tuchel said after putting Foden out wide.
“We lacked runs off the ball. It was a little bit too much passing, not enough dribbling, not aggressive enough towards goal. They trained very well, they were decisive in training. “We hope for more impact in these positions. More dribbling and more aggressive runs towards the box.
"In general that was missing. The chances come from the little runs behind the line. They were not as decisive as they can be.”
It wasn't what Foden will have wanted to hear as Tuchel looks to quickly hone in on his best XI ahead of next summer's World Cup. Ahead of Monday's international games, Tuchel said he had spoken to Foden, praising his effort and pressing, particularly defensively in something of a u-turn.
"Phil is just maybe not finding the momentum at the moment that he can have," Tuchel said. "Phil needs maybe a little bit closer connections to a No 10 than we could provide in this match."
So after identifying a problem, Tuchel seems clear on a solution. Pep Guardiola will be interested to see if it works - he has struggled to find that momentum in last year's Premier League Player of the Year.
Foden spoke of feeling burned out after last season's heroics and a key role in helping England to the Euro 2024 final. And he told the Manchester Evening News that he struggled playing out wide for the Three Lions. But with Jude Bellingham ahead of him at no.10 (or at least less versatile when it comes to playing on the wing), Foden's international future might have to be from the flanks.
And Tuchel's 'momentum' comment is telling, too. His season has been one where everybody has been waiting for him to rediscover that rhythm with the assumption that form will naturally follow. If he has been burned out, it is still having an impact.
Foden probably needed more of a rest this season, or at least the ability to step out of the limelight. But injuries to others has meant he hasn't had that chance, instead playing through his struggles. 10 goals and six assists in 38 games is a reasonable return - although half of those goal involvements came in a six-game period in January. And since then he has featured in every game but completed 90 minutes just once in the last ten.
He also has just one assist from his last 11 games - over ten hours of football since his last goal. Pushed out wide for City again since the arrival of Nico Gonzalez and Omar Marmoush, even benched in games vs Brighton and Tottenham, Foden is back to that no-man's-land of waiting to find form again.
Tuchel, for his part, will persist with Foden - or at least he won't drop him on the back of his Albania criticism. Guardiola probably won't, either.
But the longer the questions are asked, the harder it becomes for Foden to find that form again. If he simply needs a rest to reset and restart, the Club World Cup in 2025 and the 2026 World Cup 12 months later hardly provide that. If he needs momentum, then why is he not finding it with regular games for club and country?
But the reason why Tuchel and Guardiola continue to look to Foden is because of his clear quality. Even when Foden was under-par in attack, Tuchel praised his defensive work and pressing which was always Guardiola's criticism of him as a younger player.
Bernardo Silva had a quiet season a couple of years into his City career when similar questions were asked of him. He took a year to focus on the more defensive side of his game and returned as a swiss army knife playing anywhere from left-back to right-wing via a false nine or number eight - and he helped City win the treble.
If this year, of all years, is one where Foden has to step back to step forwards, then it will be a worthwhile price to pay. If the slow form continues into the Club World Cup and next season, maybe there will be a problem.
Until that happens, it feels like Foden's performances are only being highlighted because of what everyone knows he can do, overlooking what he is actually doing. He will be far more concerned with what Guardiola and Tuchel are telling him and that will be the route back to his brilliant best.
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