Fans have been reacting to the performance of Manchester City star Phil Foden in the 1-1 draw between England and Denmark.
After coming in for a lot of criticism after England’s first game of Euro 2024 against Serbia, Foden was handed another chance from the start tonight by Gareth Southgate.
Despite criticism from fans, Southgate praised Foden for his work against Serbia, and was happy to use him once again against Denmark
For England’s second game, Southgate named an unchanged starting XI – meaning Foden would start from the left wing.
Foden’s performance tonight was always going to come under the microscope after his struggles against Serbia.
It was another poor England performance against Denmark, with the team really lacking cohesion and showing alarming lethargy on the ball at times.
But Foden had bright moments.
Fans react to Phil Foden performance for England against Denmark
Foden played from the left, but cropped up much more in the middle against Denmark.
At times, it felt as though he was doing that out of frustration. He was determined to go and get the ball to try and affect the game.
He actually completed more dribbles (4) in the first-half than any other player combined (3).
You could see that he was trying his hardest to make something happen, and some fans did appreciate this on social media.
@Harrykudd98 wrote ‘Foden been our best player and takes him off’, with @smelio1 adding ‘Thought Saka and Foden were our best players!’
@aliladiere said ‘Saka and Foden the only ones trying and will be the only ones getting slandered tonight. I hate what this sport has become’, and @DxBruyneSZN added ‘Phil Foden was the best player on the pitch that game. See what happens when you play him in the middle
Foden was substituted off by Southgate in the 69th minute as part of a triple change, with Kane and Saka also making way, and Ebere Eze, Ollie Watkins and Jarrod Bowen all coming on.
This decision was largely slammed by fans on social media.
Many felt that Foden, despite still not being at his best, was one of the only threats for England.
@philcaso said ‘taking off Foden and Saka who have been the only two good forwards is beyond hilarious, this team deserves to never win anything’, and @BBCSimonJack added ‘Taking off Foden is madness. Fit system to get best out of your world class players rather than other way round. Hope I’m proved wrong’.
Better from Foden on a frustrating night
This was a better showing from Foden against Denmark, but he was still way short of the level we know he can play at.
Southgate will have questions to answer after tonight’s game. He simply has to stop shoehorning, and play Foden where he is best and that is as a number 10.
He has just had the season of his life playing in that role.
It is clear he must operate centrally – his best moments against Denmark all came when he came inside.
There seems to be an insistence on playing Jude Bellingham as a 10. Surely, he needs dropping further back to give Declan Rice some support, to allow Foden to play as an attacking midfielder.