Skip to main content

Phil Foden gets maiden England Under-21 call-up

Phil Foden

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".

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.

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