Phil Foden told how to become England favourite again as Thomas Tuchel handed warning

EXCLUSIVE: Manchester City’s attacking midfielder Phil Foden has had a tough season and was in the spotlight again recently after failing to sparkle for England in Thomas Tuchel’s opening match

Glenn Hoddle believes English football has not given Phil Foden the special treatment his talent deserves. Manchester City ’s attacking midfielder has had a tough season and was in the spotlight again recently after failing to sparkle for England in Thomas Tuchel’s opening match against Albania.

He was dropped to the bench for the next game against Latvia but Hoddle insists Foden should be a guaranteed starter when the crunch international games come along. The former England boss says: “When I saw Phil at 17, I looked at him and thought he was a special player and that he should be given special treatment.

“He’s one that should have been brought through and made to feel he was a special player. We are very scared to do that in this country – we really are. I think that is the downside with England

“When he pulls on an England shirt, Phil still feels he has got something to prove and if you’ve got a player with that talent, that is the last thing he needs to do. He should be a player that is told: ‘I don’t care how you play in the next five games, you are going to be playing in the sixth game’.

“Every team that wins the Euros or a World Cup has one or two special players – think Maradona for that Argentinian team that wasn’t brilliant. Or Platini for France, or Zico for Brazil or whoever.

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“When the French and the Spanish went on their fantastic runs, they had two or three special players and they had to be looked at differently and given the assurance that if they had a bad game, they would still be in the side.

“If Phil had a feeling like that, I think we would have seen so much more consistency with him for England. He has never felt quite as at home in an England shirt as he has in a City shirt.”

Foden was voted Footballer of the Year for the 2023-24 season but, in common with a lot of players in Pep Guardiola ’s squad, has suffered a dip in form as City’s title defence has imploded.

But Hoddle – speaking at the County Ground before sending Swindon fans on their way in a leg of the Sky Bet EFL Every Minute Matters cycle relay – is convinced it is only a small hitch in 24-year-old Foden’s progress, saying: “Let’s face it, he is still a young man. Even if you are 31 or 32, it’s very difficult to churn it out every single year and that is where he is still on a learning curve.

“He will be back to his very, very best at some stage, whether it is before the end of the season or a bit later. But he will be back to his best. He is a special talent … and special talent does not go out of the window.”

The Sky Bet EFL Every Minute Matters Relay is a gruelling 4,000-kilometre 28-day journey that features an incredible 72 legs, stopping off at each and every EFL club before culminating at Wembley on 21st April. But unlike traditional charity events, the ‘Every Minute Matters’ relay isn’t asking for fans to donate cash but instead is asking fans to give up just 15 minutes to learn CPR.

The relay is the latest phase of Sky Bet and British Heart Foundation’s pioneering Every Minute Matters campaign which set a goal a year ago of encouraging 270,000 football fans to learn CPR – the equivalent to three Wembley Stadiums – by May 2025. With less than two months to go, the campaign has hit a remarkable 235,000 – meaning Every Minute Matters is within sight of its incredible target.

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