Phil Foden has bigged up Tottenham Hotspur defender Eric Dier and Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson by selecting them as the players who could possibly beat him and Jack Grealish in a ‘no bounce’ challenge in England training.
The Manchester City duo are known for their highly-rated technical ability, so it’s no surprise that they have been showing it off whilst on England duty at the Qatar World Cup.
The same can’t be said for Dier and Henderson, with the defensive-minded duo known more for their hard-hitting and no-nonsense nature.
But rather than pick James Maddison, Mason Mount or a Bukayo Saka, who would probably seem to be as the logical picks to thrive in such a challenge.
Phil Foden had other ideas, as he was asked to name two players who could challenge him and Grealish, and he explains why he puts forward Dier and Henderson’s names, as he told the Lions’ Den.
“Eric (Dier) has got the ping on lock, to be fair, he is good at that,” said Foden. “I would say Eric and Hendo (Henderson). He is good at passing. They are good at that type of pass.”
FODEN COOKING ON THE WORLD CUP STAGE
There has been a clamour from England fans for Foden to be handed more minutes by Gareth Southgate, after he held him back for the opening two Group B games.
But against Wales, with England already having one foot in the knockout stages, Manchester City’s thriving playmaker was unleashed.
And to nobody’s surprise, he cooked on the World Cup stage, including landing himself a goal, with Senegal up next for the Three Lions for a place in the quarter-finals.
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