Manchester United and England hero Wayne Rooney has named who he believes is the best player in Gareth Southgate's team ahead of the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
England will embark on another major tournament with their last experience still fresh in the mind.
Gareth Southgate's side fell to defeat in the final of the European Championships against Italy, while their last outing in a FIFA World Cup ended in semi-final heartache at the hands of Croatia.
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Ahead of the start of the Qatar edition of the global football tournament, praise has been coming in for one player who has been nurtured to the very top of the game by arguably the sport's best coach in Pep Guardiola.
That name is Phil Foden; a player who has been with the Manchester City academy from a young age and has progressed all the way to the first-team where he is now an integral player in the club's complex system.
Writing in his latest column for the Times newspaper, Wayne Rooney believes that Manchester City's star academy product Phil Foden is the best player in the England national team set-up.
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The former Manchester United forward explained, "The way he (Phil Foden) has been performing over the past couple of years shows he is England’s best player.
"He creates chances, he scores goals.
He continued, "He hasn’t quite done it for England - what he does for (Manchester) City - but I think he’s got everything you need.
"Technically and ability-wise, he’s the best player we’ve got."
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Wayne Rooney went on to explain how he would utilise the City star in an England team at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, with Iran, Wales, and the United States all awaiting the Three Lions in the group stage of the tournament.
Rooney explained, "With the right winger coming inside, I would keep Foden wide on the left side and get him getting at players, committing players one v one and putting crosses into the box, which he’s so good at.
"It’s important to keep width and having Foden on one side and Trent (Alexander-Arnold) on the other means that on either side you have players capable of putting great balls into the box and with Foden you also have that one-v-one ability.
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"Width is important, especially in the group games because I feel Iran and Wales will sit back — the USA maybe not as much."
On a goal contribution front, Phil Foden has seen a somewhat average season with Manchester City to date, given his attacking role in Pep Guardiola's system.
Across 20 appearances in all competitions, Foden has scored eight goals and provided a further three assists.
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However, three goals came in one single match, with the Stockport-born boyhood City fan scoring a memorable hat-trick in the 6-3 win over Manchester United last month.
Topics: Wayne Rooney, Phil Foden, England, Manchester City, Manchester United, Football, FIFA, Football World Cup
Freddie Pye