DBasia.news – The England national team was held to a 0-0 draw against the United States in Group B of the 2022 World Cup. This result drew criticism from the coach, Gareth Southgate.
Expectations accompany England after crushing Iran with a score of 6-2 in the first match. The fans believe that their favorite team can beat the United States easily.
However, what happened on the field was not as expected. The United States succeeded in suppressing England’s game which made them unable to do much.
Substitutions made by Southgate also did not help much. Jack Grealish, Jordan Henderson and Marcus Rashford, who came off the bench, didn’t make much of a difference.
This is what Southgate criticized. He seemed to have ignored Phil Foden, who is one of the best players in his squad.
“I don’t think we connected in that combination in midfield. I thought the opposing midfield was much better and I was disappointed not to see Foden,” Gary Neville told ITV.
“For me his (Foden) talent is huge. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Foden is one of the creative midfielders currently owned by the England National Team. Throughout the 2022-2023 season, the 22-year-old player has recorded eight goals and three assists with Manchester City.
But Southgate prefers to rely on Mason Mount as an attack creator. Meanwhile, Jack Grealish, who often serves as Foden’s back-up at Manchester City, is also preferred to enter as a supersub.
Neville’s opinion was also agreed by two former England national team strikers, Ian Wright and Michael Owen. They think the outcome of the match could have been different had Foden entered the field.
At Manchester City Foden had to deal with a lot of low-block.
He is someone who is adept at finding space with one-twos at Man City,” said Wright.
“I’m shocked that we’ve used 14 players so far but our most talented player is still on the bench,” Owen tweeted.
Southgate’s response
Southgate is aware of the criticism from observers and fans of the England National Team. But he has strong reasons for the decision not to include Foden.
“We thought it was the right thing to keep the starters against Iran. And then the wingers, we went with Jack and Marcus rather than Phil to make changes,” stated Southgate.
“We think Jack will keep the ball well for us. We think Marcus’ speed will also be a threat in the latter part of the game.”