England: Phil Foden realising the dream 'of every kid on the estate'

Last updated on .From the section Englandcomments59

It hasn't sunk in - Foden on first England call-up

Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden says he will be realising the dream "of every kid on the estate" if he makes his England debut this week.

The 20-year-old has been included in the senior squad for the first time for Nations League games against Iceland and Denmark.

Foden also says the patience shown by City boss Pep Guardiola means he is "ready to go" at international level.

"It's still not really sunk in," he said.

"When I was younger, every kid on the estate would dream of playing for England, pretend they were [England] players.

"That's something I used to do - and now I'm in the senior team, it seems crazy.

"I'm just hoping I can make my debut. That will be a big moment for my family and I'll try and enjoy it."

Gareth Southgate's side go to Iceland on Saturday [17:00 BST kick-off) and then travel to face Denmark on Tuesday (19:45).

Foden earned his senior England call-up after impressing for Manchester City last season, playing 38 games and scoring eight goals.

He started City's Carabao Cup final win against Aston Villa in February and last month's Champions League last-16 victory over Real Madrid.

"I played in some massive games this year, like cup finals and big Champions League games. They are the games everyone wants to play in," added Foden.

"Sometimes it's difficult for a young player to play in those games. But I think he [Pep] has been patient with me and played me at the right times.

"Now I'm learning a lot and I feel ready to go."

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59 comments

  • Looks like he could be a great player & top professional. Huge season for him this & hopefully he will be afforded the time to really grow and not be hounded by the media when he inevitably goes off the boil for a few games. could be the natural midfield creativity england so often miss. Good luck to lad.

    • salford blue replied:
      Every season is going to be a huge because this lad is on a huge ladder that very few could hope for, where he gets of is down to his own determination to be the best

  • Would probably have reached this stage a year older at 19 if he had been at another club . Eventually though his talent couldn’t be ignored by Guardiola. I reckon Foden is one of the best all round 20 year olds in the world, and I’m not a City fan. Reminds me a lot of the old United midfielder Bryan Robson. Get used to reading about him, because you’ll be doing that for the next ten years.

  • We should be on our knees, thanking our gods for Foden.

  • On behalf of all the other nations in Europe good luck Denmark and Iceland 🇩🇰👏🇮🇸👏

  • It’s a national disgrace that players from teams like Sunderland aren’t getting a look in at England level. Such an imbalance it smacks of corruption.

  • Winks, Prowse, Alli, Dier.

    None of above should play for England.

    Mount, Foden, Grealish, Henderson.

    More like it.

  • Deserves his place and good luck to him

  • Foden has many old school qualities, not least on the pride of playing for ones country. He has a big season ahead of him and trying to fill the boots of David Silva will be a challenge. He has thus far stood up to the challenges at City and has proven himself an outstanding talent and an out and out winner.

  • Foden is playing for the wrong Manchester club.

    If he wants to achieve his dreams.

    • salford blue replied:
      I am sure Lingard will tell him that

  • Well 5 kids from my rural Shugborough Estate ended up realising their dreams playing for the English Polo team. Its not that hard.

    • sillybilly replied:
      Few people on this thread need to get a sense of humour - and probably a Trust fund too ;)

  • This comment was removed because it broke the rules. Explain

    • This comment was removed because it broke the rules. Explain

  • The midfield is shocking at the moment. Foden looks the real deal and needs to start despite his inexperience. Mount=bystander that can get some goals to look good on MOTD, Winks=pass it to someone else a foot away, Ward Prowse=pass it to someone a foot away, Alli&Dier=what happened to these guys, Rice=looked average for England so far. Clearly Henderson, Foden and Grealish are the stand outs

    • salford blue replied:
      Henderson Dier and Ali are the problem with England at the moment, Ali could solve it by moving back into a DM position, but Southgate likes a ponderously slow midfield , that will ruin Mount , Maddison and Foden

  • THREE MANCHESTER related HYS columns now....

    • salford blue replied:
      Two on the worlds best player who could be moving, one on the next best player on his England call up what is your problem?

  • The media will slag him off and so will opposition fans if he has a few bad games

  • enjoy the comments section but why do some clowns insist on absolute drivel like The Boring One?

    • GJM1305 replied:
      I sometimes wonder this myself, same usernames all the time!

  • Potentially a huge career ahead IF the media manages not to bury him in hype :)

  • Good player that will never be a regular at city. When he leaves he will be a good signing.

    • MazivNose replied:
      He already is a regular at City. How very dishonest and bitter of you.

  • This new format is really frustrating. It’s unstable, comments do not get updated automatically.... one has to keep doing refresh, the upvotes / downvotes also keep changing randomly.

    BBC, get your act together and give us a stable version. Or better, revert to the old format. At least we all know how that worked.

    • more love replied:
      Good shout. Who likes this format its clunkius maximus

  • He's no Eric Djemba Djemba is he? Another overhyped English player.

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