The confusion over Phil Foden’s best position that saw him left out of England’s World Cup squad | OneFootball

Phil Foden had so lost form for Manchester City that Thomas Tuchel wasn’t even sure what his position was, the England manager revealed in explaining his World Cup squad selection.

The German added that it “hurt me a lot” to leave the 25-year-old out, and that it affected the forward, especially given how “excellent” he has been for the camp.

Foden has nevertheless fallen out of favour in a difficult season for City, that has only briefly shown a few sparks. While Tuchel had talked at length about how he had huge competition for Foden’s nominal position, he admitted that Pep Guardiola’s recent use left him confused over his recent position.

“With Phil it’s a little bit different because Phil was excellent in camp for us,” Tuchel said in a radio interview with Talksport. “He was not only excellent in training, but also off training. He was open, he was in good spirits.

Thomas TUchel admitted it was a tough call to leave Phil Foden out of his World Cup squad (PA Archive)

“And it hurt me a lot, actually, to call him and to tell him this decision. I could see in his reaction how much it affects him, how much it would have meant for him to come.

“But I think, like with Cole [Palmer] and especially with Phil, he lost momentum in a crucial moment of the season and basically the last half of the season, we could see glimpses here and there but not a lot of evidence.”

“I was not even sure in the end what position his position is. Is it a 10? Is it a false nine? Is it maybe more a Bernardo Silva role in the future as a number eight?

“It is maybe not on the wing anymore, so it does not also make sense for me to just bring players and then play them out of position to have them in camp.

“It will just also make them uncomfortable, make them unhappy, so the decisions have to be made before, and the two names were very difficult ones.”