Why is Phil Foden not playing for England at the World Cup?

Phil Foden is not featuring at the World Cup this summer after being left out of the England squad by Thomas Tuchel.

The Manchester City star was part of Tuchel’s bumper 35-man squad before the tournament, but he didn’t make the final 26.

Getty

He is one of multiple big names to have missed out on a place in North America, along with Cole Palmer, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Harry Maguire and more Premier League players.

Foden has 49 England caps to his name so far in his career, with his appearance against Japan in March his most recent outing.

But his club form had an impact on his snub, with the 26-year-old struggling for regular starts for Man City this season.

And his position proved to be another deciding factor for Tuchel when making his tough decision ahead of the World Cup.

Why is Foden not playing for England?

The England boss explained his choice to leave Foden at home to talkSPORT after the 26-man squad was announced.

Discussing the omission, he revealed that he was unsure of the playmaker’s best position, having previously featured out wide for the Three Lions amid strong competition in the No.10 role.

Tuchel said: “With Phil, it’s a little bit different, he was excellent in camp for us… not only in training but also out of it.

“It hurt me a lot actually, to tell him this decision. I could see in his reaction how much it would have meant for him to come.

“But he lost momentum in a crucial part of the season, especially in the last half of the season…we could see glimpses here or there, but not enough evidence.

“I was unsure in the end what position he is. Is it a 10, is it a false 9, is it maybe more of a Bernardo Silva role in the future as an 8?

Getty

“It’s maybe not on the wing anymore, so it doesn’t make sense to me to bring players and maybe play them out of position…

“To have them in camp, it would make them uncomfortable, unhappy, so the decisions have to be made.” 

Tuchel opted to take Eberechi Eze, Morgan Rogers and Jude Bellingham as No.10 options instead of Foden.

Noni Madueke also got the call as cover for Bukayo Saka at right wing, rather than the Man City man and Chelsea‘s Palmer.

Kobbie Mainoo, Jordan Henderson and Elliot Anderson were preferred in the midfield roles, along with Declan Rice.

It meant Foden wasn’t taken to the US at all, and sadly, he will have to watch his teammate competing for glory from home.