Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes Phil Foden is on track for a swift return to the England squad, despite being left out of Thomas Tuchel’s recent squad.
Foden was a surprise omission from the Three Lions squad for this month matches against Wales and Latvia, despite his impressive form for the Cityzens.
The forward has bounced back from a disappointing 2024/25 campaign and has found the back twice, while he has also provided two assists in seven appearances this season.
However, he headlines a host of absentees alongside Jude Bellingham, Jack Grealish and Adam Wharton, from Thomas Tuchel’s most recent squad list.
“Thomas [Tuchel] knows what he needs for the national team a thousand million times better than me,” Guardiola said.
“All I can say is that if Phil is still playing like he is playing, he will be back.
“I am happy when players go to the national team but I am even more happy when they come back healthy, that’s for sure”, Guardiola continued.
“He’s the best player we have in the small spaces in the final third by far. Last year we missed his goals and assists. The desire to score a goal is the best we have.”
Manchester City travel to the Gtech Community Stadium to face Brentford on Sunday, a ground where Foden has scored six times in four appearances.
Tuchel raises eyebrows with squad selection
England head coach Thomas Tuchel made his squad announcement for this month’s friendly match against Wales and the crucial World Cup qualifiers against Latvia on Friday.
However, it was so surprising that several star names were left out of the squad, despite inspired form for their respective club sides, with Tuchel revealing he opted to maintain the same squad from the last international window.
With just few months until the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Tuchel faces a huge dilemma in determining who makes the trip to the United States.
It is expected that the ‘big-boys’ will make a return to the team in the next international break, but at the expense of which players?
