There are a lot of big names on England’s roster ahead of the Euros in Germany this summer. Some of these players are in excellent form and this in part has contributed to England being labelled as favourites to lift the trophy amongst many of the large online bookmakers, such as Bet. These include the likes of Phil Foden, Declan Rice, and Jude Bellingham.
However, there is only one of these players we’re going to put under the spotlight today and that is Phil Foden. (You can view the general sentiment around Phil Foden by checking in here at 10Bet). The forward has been instrumental in City’s success over the past year and indeed this season.
And although he will have been disappointed to miss out on lifting the FA Cup against their derby rivals, as well as not lifting the UEFA Champions League, he has at least helped the club he has been at since he was a kid to a record 4th Premier League title. And so before we look into whether England can get the best out of Foden, Let’s have a look at how he has done this season so that we know what type of form he is in going into this tournament, which will give us a bit more of an insight as to how much potential he has got to deliver at the Euros.
Performance in the 2023–24 season
As we have already touched upon, Foden has added another winner medal to his tally this year after City lifted a 4th consecutive Premier League trophy after they managed to remain consistent towards the end of the season in what was a three-way fight for the trophy between top 4 rivals Arsenal and Liverpool, who lost their edge towards the end of the season. Across all competitions that he has played in so far this season, he has made a total of 53 appearances, scoring a total of 27 goals, with just over a 1 goal in every 2 games ratio. He also missed out, unfortunately, on the Charity Shield in August 2023, when they were beaten on penalties by Arsenal.
Where will he play?
Of course, there is no doubt about Foden’s capability when it comes to scoring or his fitness ahead of the tournament. But it’s more waiting to see what role he will play within the England squad when it comes to the tournament. He is a versatile forward, being able to move and switch; however, is this the key to getting the best out of him? We can only wait to see as the tournament gets under way later this month.
How has he performed for his country in the past?
Having just turned 24 in May of this year, Foden has accrued an impressive 34 caps for his country and scored four goals in total. He made his debut back in 2020 and this was against Iceland, funnily enough, the team that England faced in their last friendly leading up to this summer tournament. Although that’s not where we’ll stop mentioning Iceland, He also scored his first goal against them later that year in November and that is also his last cap as of writing this. And a lot of the players in the England squad that he’s played with in the past are also included in the squad for this tournament, including the likes of Harry Kane, Declan Rice, and Judge Bellingham.
Can Southgate unlock Foden’s potential?
If Gareth Southgate is able to extract the full potential of Foden in this summer’s Euros in Germany, there is absolutely no doubt in anyone’s mind that this will hugely help their chances in this tournament. He is in no doubt in his best form so far and knows how to find the back of the net. He just needs to transfer his record for his club so far when it comes to the goals per game ratio over to the England team. He, along with Bellingham and Kane, form part of England’s lethal attack and the playing harmony between them all will be key to England’s success in Germany.
In Summary
Hopefully, ahead of the Euro’s in Germany this summer, you now have a bit more of an insight into how Foden has fared both for his country in the past and for Manchester City leading up to this tournament. And although the performance of England as a whole leading up to this tournament, particularly in their loss against Iceland at Wembley, has been more than disappointing, hopefully this is a wake-up call for the team and if Southgate can ensure that Foden finds the back of the net, we could hopefully end up seeing England lift the trophy.
