England manager Gareth Southgate has said Phil Foden "is going to play a big part" in England's bid to win the World Cup in Qatar.
Foden never made it off the bench for England's disappointing goalless draw against the United States having played just 18 minutes as a second-half substitute in the opening 6-2 thrashing of Iran.
Southgate was criticised for not utilising the 22-year-old as his side struggled to create chances at Al Bayt Stadium on Friday. Victory over the USA would have sent England through into the round of 16 but they could not find a breakthrough, only intensifying the calls for Foden to start Tuesday’s clash against Wales.
England currently sit top of the group, one point ahead of second place Iran, with Wales bottom having taken drawn one and lost the other of their opening matches.
“We are intending to be here as long as we can and he is a super player. We think the world of him and he is going to play a big part,” Southgate said of Foden to ITV Sport.
“We love Phil. He’s a super player. He’s obviously been into the first game [v Iran]. We decided not to put him into the second but he is going to play an important part in this tournament for us. There is no question about that.”
Kalvin Phillips believes that his Manchester City teammate would grab his opportunity with both hands were he to force his way into Southgate’s XI.
“I think, when he is given the chance, he will shine and he is just waiting for that chance,” he said.
“He knows it is going to be difficult, obviously, to get into the team after we’ve played so well so he is just waiting for the right moment and once that comes I think he will kick on and start flying.”
England 0 United States 0: player ratings
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ENGLAND RATINGS: Jordan Pickford 6: Shouted at the sluggish defence in front of him in the first half. Beaten by a Pulisic shot, but saved by his crossbar. Shouts became fury in the second half on a frustrating night in Qatar. Getty -
Kieran Trippier 6: Not close enough to McKennie for the USA’s best chance of the first half and wasn’t close to Pulisic when he hit the bar. Hard night as the athletic opponents pressed well. AP -
John Stones 7: Last man and alert to Pulisic as the US pressed in the first half. Passed to Maguire, who passed back to him, then Stones passed back to Maguire, who passed back to him. Ad infinitum. But they defended well. AFP -
Harry Maguire 8: Skilful run at the US goal after 10 minutes, but too poor too often in the first half with his marking. Alert for Pulisic’s corners. In fact he won every US corner. England’s best player. Not the game’s best player. AFP -
Luke Shaw 7: Two smart first half passes forward in a grim first half for England. Booked for a bad challenge on Weah. Great late free-kick in for Kane. Getty -
Jude Bellingham 5: Excellent against Iran, mediocre against the USA. No key passes, shots and outclassed by McKennie. Getty -
Declan Rice 5: Couldn’t get near McKennie in the move which saw Pulisic hit the bar. Lacked the energy he had in the game against Iran. Reuters -
Mason Mount 5: Poor in the first half as USA dominated in the middle, but had the best effort of a poor first half from England. England’s midfield looked tired. AFP -
Bukayo Saka 5: Good on the ball going forward, less effective defending. But it was all so poor. Getty -
Raheem Sterling 6: Combined with Mount in one attack, but the Chelsea player did little. Tried to find space but teammates weren’t finding him. Getty -
Harry Kane 6: Had more touches in the England box than the USA box. Late header went wide. “Wasn’t our best performance for sure, we didn’t have the final product. It was a contrast to the game v Iran and we weren’t clinical.” Reuters -
SUBS: Jack Grealish (On for Sterling 68’) 5: Good feet, but the boos at the end showed what fans thought of a dull game. Getty -
Jordan Henderson (On for Bellingham 69’) 5: Failed to help England get a grip on midfield. Reuters -
Marcus Rashford (On for Saka 78’) N/A. Getty -
UNITED STATES RATINGS: Matt Turner 7: Arsenal’s back-up goalkeeper did not have serious save to make until first-half injury-time when he palmed a Mount strike out for corner. Not much else to do bar deal impressively with crosses into box. AP -
Sergino Dest 6: AC Milan full-back found some space down right in first half but either chose wrong option with pass or sent over disappointing crosses. Not happy at all when taken off in second half. EPA -
Walker Zimmerman 8: Threw himself in front of ball to deflect Kane shot wide for corner in 10th minute and helped keep England’s key strike threat very quiet. AFP -
Tim Ream 8: Fulham centre-half coped comfortably with what little England threw at him as the US were very well organised at back. AP -
Antonee Robinson 7: Second Fulham defender in team, left-back looked to bomb on whenever possible although had to be wary up against Saka – but helped restrict Arsenal attacker’s threat to very little. AP -
Weston McKennie 7: Juventus midfielder missed glorious opportunity to open scoring when he blazed first-time shot over bar midway through first half. Blasted another chance way over bar just after break from edge of box. Shooting aside, was impressive performance. EPA -
Tyler Adams 8: Neat, tidy and quick with the pass – everything England were not as American made opposition look pedestrian at times. Screamed in delight after one excellent tackle on Saka early in second half. AFP -
Yunus Musah 8: Former England youth-team player helped USA dominate midfield for large chunks of the match. Relentless in his pressing and good in possession. EPA -
Tim Weah 7: Scorer in first match against Wales and nearly supplied the opening goal here but McKennie skied over from his ball into middle. Pace always and movement always a threat. AP -
Christian Pulisic 7: Chelsea attacker smashed ball against crossbar with fine first-half strike that had Pickford in England goal beaten in closest game came to goal. Getty -
Haji Wright 6: Brought in for Josh Sargent as only change to starting XI, headed difficult chance wide in opening 20 minutes and held ball up well although never looked like scoring. EPA -
SUBS: Brenden Aaronson (On for McKennie 78’) N/A. Getty -
Shaq Moore (On for Dest 79’) N/A. Getty -
Giovanni Reyna (On for Weah 83’) N/A. PA -
Josh Sargent (On for Wright 83’) N/A. AP
Phillips, who has yet to feature in Qatar having recently recovered from shoulder surgery, feels that Foden would benefit the team most in a central role.
“I think Phil can offer a lot of things," said Phillips. “Obviously he is an unbelievable talent, unbelievable technically and he works hard.
“I think for me his best role is probably as a number 10 – I think in that role where he can float about, get on the ball and do whatever he wants to do.
“You see him when he takes it past people, you’ve seen the assists and the goals that he’s got this year, he’s a real threat.”
Foden’s lack of action has led to speculation over his relationship with Southgate, but team-mate Jack Grealish dismissed the suggestion.
Grealish told BBC Sport: “People always used to say, ‘Ah, he’s got a problem with Jack’ last year or two years ago, and then I come on and it’s like, ‘Oh, he likes Jack now, who is it next?’.
“And then I know people were saying, ‘He doesn’t like Madders [James Maddison]’ and now Madders is in, so it’s fine with him, and then Phil didn’t play, so it’s like, ‘He’s got a problem with Phil’.
“He hasn’t got a problem with anyone. He speaks to all of us the same. If you’re not playing – Phil didn’t play the other night – he’s still the same with Phil as he is with me, when I came on, or Harry Kane.
“He’s not got a problem with anyone. If he did have a problem with someone, you’d know about it.”
