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After beating Iran 6-2 in the first match at the World Cup, England was expected to ensure their trip to the last 16 by beating the United States.
But, not only that the victory did not happen, it was the performance of the English team that worried fans alike. It was boring, one would argue, without character, and desire to outplay the opponent, and what baffled fans the most are the substitutions that the manager Gareth Southgate made.
Harry Kane was ready despite a suspected injury after the first game, he played the whole match against the US, and Southgate decided to allow Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, and Mason Mount to play in the midfield. Raheem Sterling and Bukayo Saka joined Kane up front.
England’s play looked stale, out of sorts, without passion or aim to play offensive football. When the time came to make changes in the lineup, Gareth Southgate decided to bring in Jordan Henderson, Jack Grealish, and Marcus Rashford. The latter two are offensive players, but the one that fans wanted was Phil Foden. The 22-year-old has been superb this season for Manchester City, but it seems that fact didn’t impress Southgate all that much.
“We have used 14 players in this match, and none of them was Phil Foden, one of our most talented players,” quipped former England striker Michael Owen.
He wasn’t the only one who was stunned that Southgate didn’t give Foden a single minute of action.
Southgate barely used Foden in the first game against Iran as well, and versus the United States, he was asked about the decision to keep Foden on the bench.
“We thought it was the right thing to do to keep the same team on the field, we felt Grealish and Rashford would give us what we needed as wide players, as well as with their speed.”
It makes sense, one would say, but it didn’t work out. Southgate doesn’t like to play Foden in the middle of the field because, as he explained, he doesn’t play that position often for his club.
But, that explanation didn’t sit well with the pundits and fans who felt that Southgate is misusing some of his players, and for the rest, he just doesn’t know them well.
Why does Mason Mount have an advantage over Foden?
Southgate chose the same lineup against the US as he did versus Iran, with Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham logical choices in the middle, while Mason Mount has the advantage over Phil Foden.
Foden is a world-class talent that proved his value while playing for Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, he is only 22 years old but already accumulated 189 matches for the club scoring 53 goals and assisting on 36 occasions. Mount can hold his own, but it seems he is not on the same level.
Southgate’s stubbornness that Foden can’t play as a middle player is surprising, to say the least as Mount was struggling against the US, as most of the team. But, somehow he kept his place in the team for the whole match.
England is still almost certain to advance to the last 16 if they don’t lose by four goals to Wales, while the US will try to secure their advancement with a win against Iran.
Earlier, Iran beat Wales 2-0 to have a real chance of progressing to the playoff round.
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