Manchester City star Phil Foden had a nightmare for England at Euro 2024, playing seven games but without contributing a single goal or assist in the entire tournament.
The 24-year-old is capable of so much more than what we saw from him in Germany this summer, and it’s certainly frustrating to see that Gareth Southgate stuck with him when he clearly had a better option in the form of Chelsea star Cole Palmer, who made a terrific impact when he came on from the bench in the semi-finals and the final.
See below for some stats that show what could’ve been, with Palmer managing a goal and an assist despite not starting a single game for the Three Lions this summer…
Cole Palmer:
5 games
0 starts
1 goal
1 assist
1 pre assist
1 knockout pen scoredPhil Foden:
7 games
7 starts
0 goals
0 assists
0 pre assists
0 knockout pens scored— ??? (@UtdEIIis) July 14, 2024
England could really have done with Foden being at his best, as we saw from him in the season just gone at Man City, which could explain why Southgate decided to be patient with him and give him the chance to keep on playing.
In the end, though, it just didn’t look like the right fit for England, and Palmer clearly had more of an impact in the limited time he spent on the pitch, so perhaps Southgate should have been braver and given him more opportunities instead of favouring the big name.
Chelsea fans will be excited by Palmer, however, who continued his superb form that he showed at Stamford Bridge last season, and another campaign like that for the Blues should surely cement his place in the England starting XI for the future.
Palmer is one of many talented young players in this England side, so the future could still be very bright for the national team, even if they now have to deal with the heartache of losing two European Championships finals in a row – the first country in history to do so.
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