A significant number of Manchester City players were in action during the 2024 European Championship.
With City having more players from their squad picked to play in the tournament than any other Premier League side, many of them played prominent roles for their countries.
In fact four of the 14 players ended up featuring in the final of the tournament between England and Spain.
With the competition now over, one of City’s key players has found himself being the topic of conversation as a result of what he did in Germany for his international side.
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Paul Merson says he felt sorry for Phil Foden at Euro 2024
While reflecting on England’s journey in the Euros, Paul Merson had this to say about Phil Foden in a recent edition of Football’s Greatest.
He said: “I feel sorry for Phil Foden. We’ve seen it with Phil, he can play. But when you play where he plays, you are so reliant on the centre-forward. You are so reliant.
“If you’re playing as a number 10 and you’re playing there, you’re relying on that person up front and their movement.
“And when they brought that movement, when [Ollie] Watkins come on, for the next 10 minutes as Watkins come on, everybody started getting the ball. And people are going, oh, we’re playing now.
“We weren’t just playing, they were more worried, [Aymeric] Laporte and people like that were more worried, the centre-halves were more worried about Watkins going that way, so they stretched the game.
“Then we started getting on the ball. And that’s what happened. Then he takes Foden off. Take Foden off? Keep Foden on.”
Foden couldn’t click at the Euros
Despite starting all seven of England’s games in the competition, the 24-year-old, who Rodri picked out as being a standout player for England prior to the final, was unable to score a goal or deliver an assist for the Three Lions.
Having been deployed by Gareth Southgate in numerous positions, Foden couldn’t seem to carry on the blistering form he showed for Pep Guardiola’s side last season into the tournament.
Now that Merson has highlighted how the players around Foden in the England side and some of Southgate’s decisions didn’t help the City star, hopefully, things will be different for him on the international stage in the future.
