“It’s not a guarantee he will come” – Thomas Tuchel raises huge doubt over Phil Foden’s FIFA World Cup chances | OneFootball

England manager Thomas Tuchel has rated Phil Foden’s chances of earning a call-up to represent his nation at the FIFA World Cup this summer.

Foden started each of the Three Lions’ recent friendlies against Uruguay and Japan at Wembley during the recent international break but struggled to impress Tuchel on the pitch despite catching the eye in training.

The 25-year-old has found minutes hard to come by at the Etihad Stadium in 2026 and did not play a single minute over two legs of Manchester City’s recent 5-1 aggregate UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie defeat to Real Madrid.

Foden also only came on in injury time for City at Wembley 10 days ago as a brace from Nico O’Reilly helped Pep Guardiola’s side down Arsenal and win the Carabao Cup final to earn their first piece of silverware in two seasons.

Tuchel: Foden’s World Cup spot not a guarantee

Speaking after England’s 1-0 defeat to Japan on Tuesday night, Tuchel delivered an honest verdict on Foden’s recent performances for his country.

“He tried everything. I’d say he was excellent in camp but he struggles to show it on the pitch,” Tuchel said on Foden, as quoted by Mail Sport’s Craig Hope.

“He didn’t have a lot of minutes for Manchester City recently. Then he came to camp with the brightest smile and was so good in training and I thought he’ll surprise us, play with the same verve and excitement. But he struggles to have the full impact.”

On whether he can take a player to a FIFA World Cup campaign who ‘struggles’ to perform at present like Foden, Tuchel added: “I can,” in a laughing tone. “The question would be if we will. Well, it’s not a guarantee that he will come.”

Why has Foden struggled at Man City lately?

Foden’s struggles at the Etihad Stadium since January can be credited to a variety of reasons but mainly, it is just that he has not been able to replicate the form he showed regularly between September and November 2025 that earned him a call back into the England squad.

Antoine Semenyo has been a revelation since joining from Bournemouth in January, effectively making himself a guaranteed starter alongside Erling Haaland in attack for Manchester City.

Omar Marmoush has also impressed since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, with O’Reilly moving up from left-back and establishing a place in midfield alongside Bernardo Silva and Rodri – to limit the number of creative attacking spaces Guardiola can fill.

Since the turn of the year, Foden has more or less competed with all of Marmoush, Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders, Savinho and Jeremy Doku for one supporting role behind Haaland and Semenyo.

Tuchel will be hopeful that Foden can rediscover his best form at Manchester City in the remainder of the domestic campaign as the Blues vie for a domestic treble after winning the Carabao Cup – starting with this weekend’s FA Cup quarter-final tie against Liverpool.