Gareth Southgate praises Phil Foden’s ‘magnificently sexy’ show | England

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Gareth Southgate said it was “extremely exciting” to see Phil Foden shine in a deep role as England took another step towards qualification for the 2022 World Cup by crushing Andorra 5-0.

Foden started in central midfield in England’s 4-3-3 system and confirmed his ability by dazzling in a new position. The 21-year-old, who has had most of his previous appearances for his country as a winger, showed his range with a beautiful pass for Bukayo Saka’s first-half goal and the way he controlled the game left Southgate drooling.

“Honestly, he’s one of those influential players anywhere across the front line if you play with him 7, 11, 10, 8,” said the England coach. “A traditional 4-3-3 midfield with 6, 8, 10, if he’s 10 at that but with the ability to step back and build play sometimes, like he did tonight, I think part of that is just because he’s getting stronger as well and part of that It is the balance in the type of player who might play the quarter-final with these qualities.

“But that’s pretty exciting, isn’t it, when you’re trying to break a defense, like we did tonight, and you have a player who sees the passes that he sees and hits them and executes them the way he did. At the end of the game, there were some great combinations between Foden and Mount and Grealish and Saka. Kind of The play that our players are able to produce is really exciting.”

England, still four points clear of Albania at the top of Group A, had other great players in the Estadi Nacional. Jadon Sancho caught the eye with two passes on the left wing, Jack Grealish scored his first international goal and there were more goals from Tammy Abraham and James Ward-Prowse in the second half.

Jadon Sancho has set goals for between Chilwell and Tammy Abraham. Photo: David Ramos/Getty Images

But Foden, who was injured when England lost to Italy in the Euro 2020 final, was undoubtedly the star’s turn. The Manchester City player was in a good mood from the start and was involved when Southgate’s side took the lead, playing the pass that allowed Sancho to score Ben Chilwell’s first international goal.

“It’s really interesting, the possibilities with him in terms of where he is positioned going forward,” Southgate said. “Today’s match was perfect because there was no need to defend. You only analyze one part of the game because it is a certain level of the opponent. However, seeing the passes and making the passes he made is clear to everyone.

“With one or two more people in the midfield area getting stronger, I think it’s really exciting how we can develop as a team in certain matches and how that balance and creativity can advance. I’m not surprised he did the best. Half of us expected that when we named the team.” .

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Southgate was pleased that England, who host Hungary on Tuesday, had not responded to repeated provocations from Andorra. “There were a lot of challenges and flashpoints where our players had to respond in the right way and basically they were able to do it,” he said. “This is always important. Regardless of the level of the opponent, if you go down to 10 you are giving yourselves a huge obstacle to cross.”

Southgate salvaged some praise for Sancho, who has struggled since joining Manchester United. “It wasn’t easy for the winger tonight because you often received the ball with two defenders, sometimes three defenders very close,” he said. “You have to pick the right moment to fire the ball and the right moments to support yourself to maybe take out one or two of these players and I think he has done that exceptionally many times. He showed a lot of the qualities he has tonight and I know that will come with the club too.”

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