PHIL FODEN has been touted for international stardom for so long that it’s hard to believe that he won’t even be among England’s 50 youngest debutants if he plays against Iceland tomorrow.
The football world has been holding its breath over the Manchester City midfielder ever since he was named Player of the Tournament when England won the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
Even Pep Guardiola, a man not normally given to hyperbole, declared: “It’s a long time since I saw a player like this. He is a gift for us.”
Team-mate Kyle Walker this week called him: “The best young player I’ve ever seen,” yet the fact remains that Foden has still only started 12 Premier League games.
Wayne Rooney had already won 29 caps by the time he reached Foden’s current age while 63 players have made their senior England debuts while still in their teens.
But now the nation is finally about to see what all the fuss is about as Gareth Southgate prepares to let the young playmaker off the international leash.
And the Stockport-born 20-year-old is relishing this long-awaited opportunity to make his mark as one of five new faces in the squad.
As he prepared for today’s flight to Iceland, Foden explained: “A lot of people have been pushing for me to play in the senior team much earlier but I haven’t played a lot of games for Manchester City so I’ve had to work hard for this chance,”
“I think Pep has been patient with me and selected me at the right times.
“But I’ve played in some massive games this year like the League Cup final and the Champions League game against Real Madrid and now I feel I’m ready to go.
“Gareth has never been scared to throw young kids in if they’re playing well enough but sometimes you just have to be patient to make the step up to the first team.
“I still have a lot of things to improve on so to hear Kyle talking about me in that way really puts a smile on my face because that’s a big statement from him.
“Every kid on the estate used to pretend they were playing for England when I was growing up and it hasn’t really sunk in yet that I’m now in the squad.
“I’m just hoping that I can make my debut this week and after that I want to try to keep the shirt and play for England for many years.”
Guardiola has never made any secret of the fact that he has been grooming Foden to be David Silva’s long-term Manchester City successor.
And now that the Spanish maestro has finally signed off at the Etihad, Foden is aiming to become a key player in his team’s title challenge next season.
He says: “That’s what I’m hoping for but there are a lot of quality midfielders at Manchester City so it doesn’t mean I’m automatically going to get that position.
“So it’s down to me to make sure I’m playing well enough to get that shirt.
“My favourite position is centre of midfield but I’ve enjoyed myself playing off the left and right, and sometimes scoring goals as a false nine.
“I feel I can be a flexible player, to be effective in different positions and do a job wherever the manager wants.
“David Silva is probably the player I admired more than anyone else. I watched him from the day he arrived at the club and to get to train and play with him was the ultimate education for me.
“He sees the game so differently to other players. The way he moves into space in tight areas, how he receives the ball and never loses it. All these things I’ve tried to learn from him.
“He’s gone now but hopefully he could be back at City one day as a coach.”
Yet if it has all seemed so easy for the youngest ever Premier League winner, that has been far from the case for Foden.
He might have been the first player born this Millennium to play in the Champions League but he still had his work cut out in his early Etihad years.
“I was a lot smaller than the other players in the academy so I had to use my brain more,” he explains.
“It was such a step up to the first team. I remember my first training session with the senior squad and I was thinking ‘wow! I’ve got a long way to go here’.
“I got used to it as the weeks went by and started to move the ball quicker but I had to adapt really quickly.
“I would say the biggest challenge was trying to deal with the physical side, so now I try to get into the gym much more to make myself a lot bigger and stronger.”
Foden scored two goals when England beat Spain in that FIFA final three years ago and he says: “The medal is in a cabinet in my parents’ house and I still like to look at it from time to time.
“There are quite a few of us in this squad who have had success with England at youth and Under-21 levels and I feel that this team can go further than we have in the past.
“Of course we need to start winning tournaments but I’m really confident with the way we are going and with the players we have.
“We’re a young team and nothing fazes us. We just go out and play our football and that’s a good thing.
“We have the players who will allow us to start controlling games and I’m really confident for the future.”
