Jamie Carragher believes Phil Foden can have no complaints about being omitted from England's World Cup squad by head coach Thomas Tuchel. The German manager is expected to confirm his 26-man squad on Friday, with Foden likely to miss out after a difficult season at Manchester City.
Foden's England struggles
Foden started every game at Euro 2024 but has been dropped following a below-par campaign at club level. Carragher, speaking on Sky Sports, argued that the 25-year-old's failures are his own responsibility rather than the fault of his managers.
"Listen, Phil hasn't had his best season. I think we all know he's a wonderful talent, but for whatever reason, it's never quite happened for him for England," Carragher said. "And I don't think those managers should be criticised for that."
He added: "I think Phil will probably have to look at himself and think of the reasons why he's been tried in lots of different positions right across the front, right, left, central. I think he's been given so many opportunities in different positions, because when he was put in a certain position, he didn't nail that position down."
Carragher's arrogance claim
Carragher compared Foden unfavourably to Cole Palmer, who is also expected to miss out on the World Cup squad. "The reason why I would go for Cole Palmer [instead of Foden] is because I think he's got a little bit more of an arrogance than Phil Foden has in terms of when I look at him on the pitch," he said.
"Sometimes I look at Phil Foden, and I think he's probably arguably talent-wise or ability-wise, you can't think of many English players better than Foden. But I just feel, I don't know what it is, something lacking, almost like an arrogance, an ego. I think Cole Palmer has got that, Jude Bellingham has got that. It's hard to quantify what I mean, but you can see it on the pitch."
The former Liverpool defender added: "The shoulders are out, they fancy themselves. I think that's one of the problems why Phil doesn't show his Manchester City form that we've seen over the last four or five years in an England shirt."
Other high-profile omissions
Foden is not the only notable absence from Tuchel's squad. Adam Wharton, Cole Palmer, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Harry Maguire are all expected to miss out on the tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
Maguire expressed his disappointment in a social media statement, saying: "I was confident I could have played a major part this summer for my country after the season I've had. I've been left shocked and gutted by the decision. I've loved nothing more than putting that shirt on and representing my country over the years. I wish the players all the best this summer."
However, Maguire's mother, Zoe, directed her anger at Tuchel, calling the decision "absolutely disgusted" on X, while his brother Joe described it as "possibly the worst decision I've ever seen in my life."
