Foden gets maiden England Under-21 call-up

Phil Foden is in line to make his England Under-21 debut after being called up for key qualifiers against Andorra and Scotland.

Published : Oct 05, 2018 17:15 IST

Manchester City's Phil Foden celebrates scoring his first Manchester City goal against Oxford United.
Manchester City's Phil Foden celebrates scoring his first Manchester City goal against Oxford United.
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Manchester City's Phil Foden celebrates scoring his first Manchester City goal against Oxford United.

Highly-rated Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden has received his first England Under-21s call-up.

Foden, 18, has attracted praise on a regular basis from his club manager Pep Guardiola, who already regards him as a "great, great player".

The City academy product has only featured eight times in the Premier League in his career, all of which have been from the bench.

However, the Under-17 World Cup winner starred in a 3-0 EFL Cup win over Oxford United last week, getting a goal and an assist.

Even though he is by no means a regular for his club, Foden was said to be in with a shot of getting into Gareth Southgate's senior squad for upcoming Nations League matches against Spain and Croatia.

His former City team-mate Jadon Sancho – now at Borussia Dortmund – was included by Southgate on Thursday, but Foden was left out, as the likes of Harry Winks, Mason Mount and James Maddison got the nod.

Nevertheless, he will have the chance to impress for the first time at the level below, with Aidy Boothroyd granting Foden a promotion from the Under-19s for two key qualifiers.

Harvey Barnes and Reiss Nelson – enjoying loan spells at West Brom and Hoffenheim from Leicester City and Arsenal respectively – have also received their first call-ups.

England hosts Andorra on October 11 before facing Scotland away five days later, needing just a point to book its place in next year's European Under-21 Championship in Italy and San Marino.

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