By the time the World Cup comes around, nine years will have passed since Phil Foden won the Golden Ball as England lifted the Under-17 World Cup. That tournament can be seen in hindsight as a watershed for the English game, the first indication that the elite player performance plan (EPPP) and the England DNA project – taking youth football seriously – might be beginning to pay off.
Youth football is notoriously unpredictable and England’s record in the Under-17 World Cup since shows a failure to qualify and a pair of last-16 exits, but following that 2017 success, England’s senior side have reached two European Championship finals and a World Cup semi-final, while the under-21s have won two European titles. Two previous Golden Ball winners from Under-17 World Cups – Cesc Fàbregas and Toni Kroos – have gone on to win the senior World Cup. Some, such as Landon Donovan, Anderson and Kelechi Iheanacho have had perfectly decent careers. And others have vanished almost entirely: Sani Emmanuel of Nigeria, for instance, won in 2009 then made just 16 senior appearances, 10 of them in the Swiss second tier with Biel-Bienne; while another Nigerian, Kelechi Nwakali, winner in 2015, joined Arsenal but, after a series of loan moves and stints in the lower reaches of the Spanish and Portuguese systems, was kicked out of Barnsley this past summer after returning late for pre-season.
The road from prodigy to glory is a rocky one. Foden has been an England regular since 2020, but there was a point earlier this year when it seemed he might not even make the squad for next summer’s World Cup. He asked to be left out of the squad in June as he dealt with personal issues, and then was not selected for the September internationals when England suddenly clicked, hammering Serbia in Belgrade, for the first time under Thomas Tuchel looking as though they might be capable of winning the World Cup. The omission of Jude Bellingham drew the headlines in October but Foden was also missing. He did return in November, coming on in the second half in both games.
It says much about the success of the EPPP that England find themselves in a position in which Foden’s place in the team is not guaranteed. A couple of decades ago, any world-class creator would have been regarded like a minor deity without whom success was impossible. No matter how bad their form, how recent a fractured metatarsal, how many games they would miss through suspension, the great creator would be included.
It also says a lot about Tuchel and his focus on balance over individuals that he could state that Foden, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham cannot play together, or at least not in the structure he prefers. It’s not, he said, “because they don’t individually deserve it” but because “we will always do what’s best for balance and we will try to keep the clarity, even if it means that we have to take tough decisions”.
The idea that a player “deserves” a call-up because of their club form has been an irritating constant in English football discourse for years, but a cap is not some sort of merit award. As Alf Ramsey said when he picked Jack Charlton for the first time, what is important is not to call up the best players but the right players.
Tuchel has been adamant that he will pick specialist wide players for those roles, players who will drive beyond Kane into the space vacated when he drops deep, rather than taking “five No 10s” to the United States. England experienced the logjam that sort of approach can lead to at the last Euros when Gareth Southgate, for the first time as England manager, seemed to be selecting on ability and status rather than utility.
Which leaves Foden in a slightly strange position. When he has been used by England it has tended to be in a wide role, but that has rarely got the best out of him. At Manchester City, the inter-movement was sophisticated enough that he could come infield without creating an imbalance. Like Trent Alexander-Arnold, the unusual collection of attributes that made him such an effective player at a club, where systems could be developed to accentuate his strengths and cover for his deficiencies, counted against him an international level. He is sui generis, perfect for City, but not the sort of plug-in-and-play model that is easier to accommodate with a national team.
Foden, having just been named Premier League player of the season, started every game for England at the Euros in 2024, four times on the left and three times in more central roles as Southgate scrabbled for a workable system. He was not alone in struggling on his return to the club game and last term probably had his poorest season since becoming a City regular.
Once he had recovered from an ankle injury, Foden has played much of this season on the right, although with a clear remit to move into the centre. There have been games, such as the last two, against Sunderland and Real Madrid, when he has been part of a central midfield three with Rayan Cherki as the right-sided player.
At least from an attacking point of view, he has thrived in both positions, scoring five goals in his last three league fixtures, although the fact City conceded two against Leeds and four against Fulham in two of those games suggests perhaps some issue with balance remains. It was notable against Madrid, though, how much more open City looked after Foden went off as part of a triple substitution with 20 minutes to go. His link-up with Erling Haaland is becoming better and better. There’s a sense of him taking on at least some of the responsibilities of Kevin De Bruyne.
Not that long ago, that would have been more than enough to guarantee Foden privileged status in the England team. Now he’s not even guaranteed a place in the squad, a remarkable turn of events for the poster boy of England’s great reset. He’s certainly not an Emmanuel, but England’s strength in depth and Tuchel’s single-mindedness mean Foden might not get the chance to be a Kroos.
