Manchester City star Phil Foden has come in for criticism from the English football media following his display for England in their shock defeat to Greece.

After a bright start in caretaker charge in the September international break, Lee Carsley’s new-look England plummeted back to Earth on Thursday night when they lost 2-1 at Wembley.

A spirited Greece went ahead just after half-time when Vangelis Pavlidis found the back of the net and they held on until the 87th minute when Jude Bellingham fired in the leveller.

However, there was another twist in the tale as Pavlidis pounced on a defensive disaster from the Three Lions to tuck away a dramatic winner.

It wasn’t a good night for Manchester City’s England stars with Rico Lewis and John Stones both making mistakes in the build-up to the winner.

Despite being given his sought-after central role, Phil Foden also had a poor performance and some sections of the English press have lambasted him for the display.

Phil Foden of England looks dejected during the UEFA Nations League 2024/25 League B Group B2 match between England and Greece at Wembley Stadium o…

Foden had yet another quiet night in an England shirt and didn’t do much of anything in attacking areas despite being given a chance in the position he has coveted for some time.

So much so that TalkSport’s Adrian Durham gave him a brutal 1/10 rating for his performance and said: “I forgot he was even playing.”

Other publications weren’t quite as harsh but none of them had anything positive to say about his display.

Metro: “Still struggling to produce his best football in an England shirt. Given a freer, more central role tonight but had no shots and just two touches in the Greek penalty area before being subbed off. 5/10.”

The Sun: “Spent most of the game pressing the Greek backline as a false nine without really getting on the ball and causing any damage. Ineffective. 4/10.”

The Guardian: “Lost in a free role. Saw little of the ball and was careless when he had it. Remains an enigma. 4/10”

The Independent: “Like so many of his England appearances, some nice touches in isolation but basically a game where he failed to dictate the rhythm or tempo, be creative or be the main conduit. If the eventual decision is to drop one creative player, his Three Lions showings might make him the one. 5/10.”

Phil Foden needs to start taking his chances

Foden’s performance sadly isn’t a rare outlier in the 2024/25 season or just in general for England.

The City hero has endured a slow and frustrating start to the new campaign and there are understandable reasons for that.

He is coming off the back of a gruelling season and an intense international tournament in the summer, with workloads increasing all the time it’s no surprise some players take longer to get going.

Especially when they have been hit with an illness that sidelined them for a couple of weeks, like Foden has.

There’s no doubt Foden will, and undoubtedly sooner rather than later, get back to his thrilling best.

However, there remains a question over where his best position actually is. The talk and clamour have always been over him starting in the middle for obvious reasons.

Foden has enjoyed some good performances there, too. Yet, he has not done so consistently and the truth is he has played his best football on the wing.

If Foden doesn’t start taking his chances in the middle, he might be consigned to the flanks for longer than he imagined.