The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- Judith Benjamin
Gareth Southgate has revealed that Phil Foden was understanding of the decision to substitute him 11 minutes after his introduction in England’s 2-1 win over Italy.
Southgate’s Three Lions beat the reigning European champions on Thursday night thanks to goals from Harry Kane and Declan Rice.
But it was far from plain sailing for Southgate’s men, who had to battle to victory with 10 men for the final 10 minutes of the match.
Man United full-back Luke Shaw was dismissed for a second yellow on the night and it forced the England boss into removing Foden, despite only bringing him 11 minutes prior.
There was speculation that it may have caused some unrest within the England camp, but Southgate has insisted that the Man City winger was understanding of the situation. Foden could return to the starting XI for England’s clash with Ukraine on Sunday, which is being shown live on Channel 4.
Gareth Southgate (L) has revealed the conversation held with Phil Foden (R) against Italy
Foden was removed just 11 minutes after coming on as England was struck down to 10-men
Southgate said: ‘No, he [Foden] came up to me and said ‘I know, I get it’ – he knew exactly what we needed to do.
‘You obviously don’t want to do that but we needed to get the full-back on.
‘And we felt the change of the shape with them having to play around us but with enough bodies to deal with crosses but with wing-backs to stop those crosses was the right way to get around that.’
Foden was introduced into the match in the 69th minute, with England already leading 2-1, and took the place of his City team-mate Jack Grealish.
However, his time on the pitch was short-lived as he was shortly replaced by Newcastle full-back Kieran Trippier.
The change proved to be useful as the Three Lions held on for the win, and Southgate later praised the performances from his side on the night.
The Three Lions boss said: ‘Yeah, Declan had a top performance level in midfield. I thought he, Kalvin [Phillips] and Jude [Bellingham], and given the experience level of the other team, were excellent.
‘We managed to put good pressure onto them. There were a lot of periods where that was a very good team performance and a lot of moments when the midfield had to do the basics of winning second balls and then you’re on the attack and it’s an ugly phase. But it was really important in the context of the game.’
Harry Kane became England’s all-time leading goal scorer after scoring the winning goal in the victory as the Three Lions got their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign off to the best possible start.
Foden was withdrawn as Southgate reshuffled his pack due to Luke Shaw’s red card
The Man City winger has scored three goals in 22 appearances for the England first team
