Manchester City's 4-1 home win over Aston Villa, Phil Foden's third career hat-trick, plus three key passes and two interceptions, could be an opportunity for England manager Gareth Southgate to put him in the 'number 10'?
Manchester City beat Villa in the early hours of Thursday morning Beijing time, and Phil Foden just proved his ability to "number 10". "Blue Moon" coach Pep Guardiola boldly put away Haaland and De Bruyne this time, and appointed Phil Foden as the "No. 10 position". Although Villa were 1-1 on 20 minutes, Phil Foden scored three goals in a row to single-handedly seal a big win for Manchester City.
Three goals, three key passes, two interceptions earned Phil Foden a perfect 10 on ratings website Sofascore, and he said after the game: "I can get the job done on both sides, but I prefer to play in the middle. ”
In fact, Leo Ferdinand and Jamie Carragher have both proposed to put Phil Foden in the "No. 10" position in the England national team. The former believes that England already have Declan Rice at the back, so that Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden can be in front of Declan Rice, "they naturally find ways to work together, they are both smart and can complement each other", and Jamie Carragher also suggested after Phil Foden scored three goals against Brentford in February: "If Jude Bellingham is going to play in the 'number 10' position and Bukayo Saka is on the right, then Phil Foden is going to play on the left wing? I don't think the left wing is the best position for him." ”
England played two friendlies last week, with manager Gareth Southgate putting Phil Foden on the right and left wings respectively. England lost 1-0 to Brazil and drew 2-2 with Belgium in those two games, and Phil Foden's performances were nothing more than mediocre. Of course, whether putting Phil Foden in the "No. 10 position" is equivalent to England being able to win, probably no one dares to guarantee that this is the winning equation, but Phil Foden's record in all competitions in Manchester City this season as the "No. 10 position" is 11 wins in 12 games, and has 12 goals and 3 assists, and an average of more than 1 direct goal per game.
Phil Foden has always been adept at creating attacks in the Half Space, with the most iconic game of the season coming in a 2-0 win over Sheffield United on 30 December. He provided two assists and made six key passes, and City's post-game highlights were almost entirely footage of him creating a threat in the Half Space on either side.
Even in the No.10 position, Phil Foden is still more often active in the right Half Space:
Phil Foden excels at creating offensive in Half Space:
England's tactical system is certainly different from Manchester City's, and there are many midfielders in the Manchester City squad who complement each other, putting Phil Foden in the same position in the national team, he may not play to the same effect, but using him as one of the two attacking midfielders (several of the 12 games mentioned above have been a double attacking midfielder) is also the right choice for a winger.
Jude Bellingham has been in a prolific performance at Real Madrid, with Southgate using two midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 formation to make room for Jude Bellingham to attack boldly, which is England's usual style of play lately, but Phil Foden can only play on the left or right. If he switches to 4-1-4-1 or 4-3-3, with Declan Rice playing as a single midfielder and Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham in midfield, Phil Foden has a chance to play to his strengths, and his preference for playing in the right Half Space may create more chances for Bukayo Saka.
As Rio Ferdinand has said, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham are smart players who can adjust naturally on the pitch. If the trial is successful, the "dream three midfielders" described by foreign media will come true, and the next World Cup can also build tactics around this method. It's just that Southgate's conservative is well known, but I believe many fans hope that he can boldly try once, because it is more reasonable than directly sacrificing one of them.