‘But he never plays there’ – Southgate puzzled as Foden names his favourite position after England beat Wales
GARETH SOUTHGATE was left puzzled after Phil Foden named his best position as number 10.
The Manchester City ace was one of the stars of the show as he got his first World Cup goal to help England to a 3-0 win over Wales.
Foden's was included in the team amid a clamour from England fans to get the 22-year-old in the starting 11 after a stale draw against the USA where he failed to even come off the bench.
And despite Southgate justifying his exclusion after the game by suggesting Foden does not thrive in the centre of the park, the midfielder disagreed.
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“Wherever I play, I try to influence the game. I can play in many different positions.
“Wherever the manager puts me, I always try and do my best for the team. That’s all I try and do."
A baffled Southgate was not sure about this assessment.
Speaking to the same radio station, he said of Foden's answer: "But he never plays there, does he? So it’s a bit hard to work that out!
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“I can see why. We need a bit of evidence of it being used at times!”
Like at Man City, Foden started last night on the flanks before switching wings with Marcus Rashford.
The tactical tweak worked a treat, with both players flourishing in the second half.
Foden added: "I felt like first-half, we didn’t really get going, didn’t get into the game.
"Gareth made a good call by switching me and Marcus over. Straight away in the second-half, that worked really well."
Rashford scored twice - and paid an emotional tribute to a friend who had recently passed away with cancer.
It was a miserable night for Wales who were knocked out the tournament and saw star man Gareth Bale subbed off at half-time with injury.