England prepare to face Hungary on Tuesday knowing victory in their latest World Cup qualifier will leave them on the brink of booking a spot in Qatar next year.
The Three Lions are four points clear of Albania in their group, and another three points will put one foot in the finals, to be staged in November and December 2022.
The comfortable qualifying campaign - they have only dropped two points from a possible 21 - gives Gareth Southgate more opportunity to work with his emerging stars.
The coach watched Harry Kane, Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling and the rest of the squad prepare for the Wembley encounter, and admits he is also excited about what “special player” Phil Foden can achieve in Qatar.
The 21-year-old continues to make strides at Manchester City and took that form on to the international stage on Saturday, running the show from central midfield against Andorra and providing two killer balls to unlock the hosts and kick off a 5-0 England win.
Asked if Foden has the potential to star at next year’s World Cup, the England boss said: “Yeah, the only thing I am loathed to do is put any pressure on him.
“We’ve known since 15, 16 what might be possible and we are seeing that.
“His evolution at his club has been perfect, really. For lots of us we were probably waiting for him to get established in that City team, you have to say that Pep [Guardiola] has managed that really well. He is flourishing."
Southgate said Foden proved against Andorra that “there’s another level” to come, having shown promising flashes during England’s summer run to the Euro 2020 final.
“Let us just enjoy him, he is a special player without a doubt. Let him grow into the team.
“We have to try and bed him in at the right time and get him positionally right for the right games. But we are delighted to have him.”
Pictures of the England squad in training can be seen in the gallery above.
