England faced Brazil at Wembley last night and, ahead of the game, Kyle Walker paid his Manchester City teammate Phil Foden a serious compliment.
The Three Lions lost 1-0, with Brazil substitute Endrick scoring late on for the visitors.
It was a disappointing performance and result, with Gareth Southgate’s side never really creating any clear-cut chances, against a Brazil side with an unfamiliar backline and new manager.
There was frustration early doors for City when Kyle Walker was forced off with a hamstring injury, and the hope is that it won’t be too serious.
Walker had Phil Foden playing ahead of him, so we were rather robbed of seeing them properly link up, as they do so well in sky-blue shirts.
But ahead of the game, Walker had some seriously high praise for Foden…
Kyle Walker says Manchester City star Phil Foden is easily the best young talent he has ever seen in football
Ahead of the game, Channel 4 aired a joint interview with Walker and Foden.
The pair are expected to be starters this summer at Euro 2024, with the talk around Foden especially having intensified in recent weeks.
Foden’s form at City has been remarkable this term, and he is now firmly in the race for the PFA Player of the Season award.
He has been helped having been able to play centrally a lot more this season, with Kevin De Bruyne having had injury problems.
Walker has been just as blown away by everyone else by his teammate, and in his mind, he has never seen a better young talent than Foden in the game.
He admitted: “I just try and tell him ‘Go and express yourself, I’ll do your defending for you’. That’s what I’m meant to do, so that he’s fresh when he gets the ball. He’s a joy to watch.
“I’ll say it now in front of him, he’s the best young talent I’ve seen, by a mile. A player like him should be looking at 100 caps plus.”
A serious compliment
This is genuinely a huge compliment from Walker about Foden, when you consider some of the players Walker has actually played with in his career.
He’s shared the pitch with the likes of Gareth Bale, Harry Kane, Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham, so it really is a statement from the City skipper.
But it is one that is becoming more and more inarguable. Foden has just taken his game to a completely new level this season and is now truly realising his potential at the Etihad Stadium.
He does all facets of the game brilliantly and the scary thing is, he is still around four or five years away from his peak.
It is hard, at this point, to see him becoming anything other than one of the very best players in the world – if he isn’t already.