Football fans around the world were embedded in a fierce discussion about two of the England national team’s brightest young stars, Real Madrid attacking midfielder Jude Bellingham and Manchester City attacking midfielder Phil Foden.
England survived a scrappy Serbia with a customary Gareth Southgate 1-0 win, with Bellingham standing head and shoulders above his largely underwhelming teammates, scoring the winning goal and racking up Man of the Match honors.
Foden was among many of those underwhelming teammates, and the likes of Micah Richards stepped in to defend arguably the best player of the 2023/24 Premier League season, stating that Foden was too isolated in a wing role.
Others, such as Cesc Fabregas, were not having it, criticizing Foden for not stepping up and showing that he wanted to impose himself on the game, which is something a player of Foden’s quality needs to do.
A lot of the criticisms of Foden have been exaggerated to the point where, unlike Fabregas’s, they are not constructive. Foden is not a positionless player, he is not overrated, and he is not a flop on the big stage.
Remember, Foden is the reigning Premier League champion and won both the Premier League and Champions League in the previous season as a key, every-game starter for Manchester City.
The issue – and what separates Foden from Bellingham – is the fact that the Real Madrid man is simply at a level above Foden in how he approaches the game.
Foden is a well-rounded player, exemplified by his exceptional 2023/24 statistics which include 19 goals, 8 assists, and 3 combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per game.
However, Foden is not as able to stand out in games like this one, because Bellingham makes more of a defensive impact and shows more activity off the ball, surging into the box and bossing the pitch.
Bellingham and Foden have different personalities. Maybe Foden excels more in a “sidekick” role and Bellingham’s personality allows him to rise above other superstars to be THE superstar.
Foden, of course, can work on that, but from a pure footballing perspective, the 24-year-old Manchester City star needs to take these European Championship games as an opportunity to be even more active as a ball-winner in the final third.
He has to take initiative to win possession for himself, following the German school of thought that the best playmaking starts with defending in the attacking third – a philosophy that Bellingham has used quite successfully in both the Bundesliga and LaLiga.
All Foden has known is Manchester City and the Premier League, whereas Bellingham has benefited from learning philosophies in England, Germany, and Spain from a variety of top coaches.
Foden is supported greatly in the Man City environment, but he has shown at the Champions League level that he is capable of grabbing games by the scruff of the neck.
He has to do that under the pressure and unforgiving spotlight while playing for the English national team. He can do that, and both a greater focus on defending and a fearlessness in possession will help him show that elite level at Euro 2024.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He has been an editor for NFL Spin Zone, Daily DDT for pro wrestling, Autzen Zoo covering the Oregon Ducks, Musket Fire covering the New England Patriots, The Real Champs covering Real Madrid, Old Juve covering Juventus, Rush The Kop covering Liverpool, and Release The Knappen covering Schalke. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.