While England’s performances in wins against Albania and Latvia in their opening 2026 World Cup qualifiers over the past week were far from perfect, there were still positives to take from Thomas Tuchel’s first two games as head coach.
Arsenal’s 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly became the youngest England player to score on his senior debut, and captain Harry Kane got goals 70 and 71 for his country. However, Tuchel did not mince his words in his assessment of his players’ performances, particularly when critiquing Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford after the 2-0 defeat of Albania.
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On the latest episode of The Totally Football Show, James Richardson, Tom Williams and Seb Stafford-Bloor discussed whether Foden will ever be able to replicate his Manchester City form while wearing the Three Lions.
A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on The Totally Football Show feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
James Richardson: After England’s 2-0 win against Albania, Thomas Tuchel cited Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford and their lack of attacking intent, or at least their lack of dribbling in their roles as wingers. What were your thoughts on that, Tom?
Tom Williams: I feel a bit sorry for Foden when he’s asked to occupy the role he occupied last Friday, because Tuchel clearly wanted his two wingers to stay very wide. And I think the further you keep Foden from goal, the less effective he is. He was trying things, he was trying to dribble and provide width on that right side. But we know that he’s not an exceptionally quick player and his dribbling style is one that is suited to more central areas. A wiggle of the hips to get away from a defender and get a shot off — that’s his game. He’s not good at picking the ball up wide and going past people.
My suspicion is that it might never happen for Foden with England. He’s won 44 caps now, he’s only 24 years old and he’s already one of the most decorated English footballers of all time. But I think he’s just such a Manchester City player. He’s just such a Pep Guardiola player. And he’s probably not going to get a chance to play as a No 10 for England on a regular basis, because of Jude Bellingham. So if he’s going to play for England, he is going to be slightly shoehorned into this role on the right where you don’t see him doing any of the things that he does for City.
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When you think about Foden’s entire international career, what are the ‘Foden moments’? What has Foden done in an England shirt? Not to justify his selection, because we all know what a wonderful footballer he is, but what has he done to make a mark on the international stage? I remember saying during the Euros (last summer) that, ultimately, England will have to have to choose between Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden. And I don’t think anything that we saw in that game against Albania suggested anything different.
Richardson: Also, with Bukayo Saka set to return at some point (having been out injured since Christmas) and very much with first dibs on that place on the right, those problems could continue couldn’t they, Seb?
Seb Stafford-Bloor: It’s very early in his time in England to start saying things like this but when I look at a Tuchel player, I completely agree with Tom that Foden’s best moments seem to always be in congested spaces when he’s taking the ball on the half-turn, and creating space where there isn’t any in the middle of the pitch.
When you look at Morgan Rogers, particularly when he plays for Aston Villa, he’s an amazing transitional player. He is so strong on the ball, so skilful and can be so direct when he needs to be. That just seems to fit into what Tuchel has done at club level much more than Foden. Phil Foden is almost like a component who has been carved specifically to play for Manchester City.
It’s really interesting, and I’m ageing myself slightly here but I see Paul Scholes’ England career and Foden’s as quite similar. Just in the way it’s kind of like, ‘Oh he’s a gifted player, we’ll just use him anywhere.’ As a result, you take a nine out of 10 player and make him a seven out of 10 player because of circumstance. Instead of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard (as was the case with Scholes), Foden’s competing with Jude Bellingham, who’s always probably going to be given the keys to the team in the middle of the pitch. It’s just unfortunate.
You can listen to full episodes of The Totally Football Show for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
(Top photo: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
