Man City’s Phil Foden given harsh but fair message after being out-shone by Jude Bellingham for England

Manchester City star Phil Foden has been told he needs to be able to find more within himself to stamp his authority on games like Jude Bellingham does after England’s 1-0 win over Serbia last night.

The Three Lions made a winning start to Euro 2024, but it wasn’t the most convincing performance in general, even if Bellingham had a good game and scored a superb winner with a commanding header in the first half.

There were some concerns about the way Gareth Southgate’s side were set up, and this led to something of a disagreement between BBC Sport pundits, as you can see in the video clip below as Cesc Fabregas insists it’s not enough of an excuse for Foden’s quiet performance…

How can England get the best out of Phil Foden? ?#BBCEuros #Euro2024 #SRBENG pic.twitter.com/AWh69HEQym

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 16, 2024

Richards argues that Foden isn’t being given the kind of role to fully express himself the way Bellingham is, but Fabregas also believes the City man could be doing more, even if the tactical set-up isn’t ideal for him.

It will be interesting to see if Foden can improve as the tournament goes on, or if Southgate perhaps needs to re-think his role in the team, or even consider leaving him out altogether.

Luckily, England have a lot of decent alternatives, with Chelsea’s Cole Palmer surely another who could be a contender to start games, while Jarrod Bowen was lively when he came on as a substitute last night.

For now, however, it’s clear that Bellingham is the main man and it’s incredible to see how much he just takes all these big games in his stride.

It’s easy to forget that Bellingham is still only 20 years old, but he’s already got 30 caps for England and has also just established himself as one of the main men at Real Madrid, winning the Champions League there in his first season at the club.

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