Roy Keane yesterday came to the defence of one Manchester City player, after he came in for criticism following his first outing at Euro 2024.
England edged past Serbia in their opening game of the tournament in Gelsenkirchen, with Jude Bellingham grabbing the only goal of the game.
England struggled, especially in the second-half. Serbia really stepped things up after going a goal down, and in the end, fans were relieved to come away with all three points.
A number of England stars impressed, but one man who found the going tough was City star Phil Foden.
Foden played out on the left, and struggled to have a big impact on the contest. And when he did get the ball, at times he was wasteful.
Micah Richards admitted he was ‘sad’ seeing him struggle to have an impact. But Cesc Fabregas insisted that he needs to impose himself more.
The day after the game, Roy Keane had his say – and actually expressed sympathy for Foden.
Roy Keane drops honest verdict on Phil Foden after performance against Serbia
Foden has just finished his best season yet at Manchester City.
The £225,000-a-week ace was the best player in the Premier League in 2023/24, and one major reason for that was that he got to play in the middle so much.
Foden has said several times it is his favourite position, and fans have been hoping to see him in the same role for England.
But against Serbia, Bellingham was deployed centrally, with Foden shunted out wide. Trent Alexander-Arnold partnered Declan Rice in midfield.
Foden has been criticised following his first outing, but Roy Keane defended the City maestro.
He said the day after on ITV: “I thought he did OK.
“But this idea that you start taking him out of the team… Phil Foden is an amazing, fantastic player. He’s had a great season.
“Ok, he was quiet last night. But he’s entitled to an off night. Don’t be writing this kid off, he’s got so much talent. You stick with him and you stick with Trent. Foden, a quality player, he had a bit of an off night, but he’s entitled to an off night.”
Foden deserves another chance
Despite England winning their opening game against Serbia, there has been so much talk about players who didn’t necessarily have their best games.
Foden has probably been the player who’s been spoken about the most.
No, he didn’t have his best game. But Keane is right – the idea that he should now be taken out of the team is ridiculous.
Foden was incredible for City throughout 2023/24 and you don’t just bench him after one less-than-impressive game.
Foden hasn’t featured on the left wing for a fair while so he needs to get used to it again. There were also a number of times against Serbia when he was calling for the ball and teammates just overlooked him.
Hopefully, Southgate will not bow to the pressure to swap him out for someone else, and will give him another opportunity against Denmark.