England international Phil Foden will be one of the players to keep an eye out for in the upcoming Euro 2020.
Despite being just 21, Foden will be entering the European Championships on blistering form having led Manchester City to the Premier League title as well as the UEFA Champions League Final where they finished runners-up.
However, things could’ve been a lot different for Foden in his international career. The youngster admits that he made a ‘massive mistake’ when he ended up breaching COVID-19 rules on international duty in Iceland in 2020. He is grateful to England manager Gareth Southgate for continuing to show faith and counting on him.
Hours after making his England debut in Iceland, both Foden and Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood found themselves being sent home from Reykjavik in disgrace last September. Both the youngsters had invited two women into their team hotel and thus, ended up breaching the bio-bubble and COVID protocols.
Foden was dropped from England’s next set of matches but was later called back to the side in November, scoring twice against Iceland. He then went on to have an immensely fruitful season with City and Foden often turned out to be decisive at the most crucial stages. He was also awarded with the PFA Young Player of the Year award after scoring 16 goals and registering 10 assists for Manchester City this season.
“Obviously I made a massive mistake,” said Foden. “I was young. But Gareth said if I keep just doing well, keep performing, I should get another opportunity. So, I had to work really hard for that. There are not many managers that would give you another opportunity so I have to thank Gareth a lot for giving me another chance.”
He’s now aiming for glory in the European Championship with the Three Lions and insists that despite the lack of experience in the squad, it should not be a hindrance for them.
“First of all, I want to say the quality is very high,” said Foden. “Yeah, we have got a lot of young players but they can play at the highest level and we’ve seen that this year.
“Of course, we have still got the experience of Harry Kane and Jordan Henderson around the team as well which is important. I think we have a great balance to the squad. We look really strong this tournament so why not? We could win it,” Foden signed off.
