England Star Fails First Auditon for Thomas Tuchel With Woeful Display vs Albania

With a 2-0 victory over Albania in their World Cup qualifying match, Thomas Tuchel’s tenure as England manager got underway at Wembley Stadium, marking a night of new beginnings and fresh begins. Harry Kane completed the three points, but the German’s goal, which made him the youngest debutant scorer in history, was credited to Myles Lewis-Skelly.

On his debut for the national squad, Dan Burn also made an impression with a header that sailed off the crossbar. Marcus Rashford and other players have the chance to demonstrate why they should be given greater playing time when he returned. The same could be said about Phil Foden, who struggled under Gareth Southgate despite starting on the right side. And the Barmy Army was talking after his performance.

Foden’s England Struggles Continue Under Tuchel

The attacking midfielder put on a muted display

Foden was identified as a player Tuchel could assist develop and turn around in the lead-up to his debut match because of his unquestionable skill, which was demonstrated by his 2023–24 PFA Player of the Year title. But the response given to supporters was more of the same.

The 24-year-old frequently found himself in lonely positions out wide, playing basic backward passes and failing to move inside where he is dangerous. The Albanian full-back marshalled him effectively, and as Lee Dixon noted during ITV commentary, there was insufficient room for him to generate opportunities where he could pose a greater threat.

Before Jarrod Bowen took his position, Foden played 74 minutes, recording 52 touches and 45 passes, 41 of which were successful. Nevertheless, there was no indication of an attacking threat, as the playmaker only managed to produce one cross that missed its target and create no significant opportunities. Additionally, Foden made just one dribbling attempt and was dispossessed during the game, unable to manage a shot. Additionally, he made a rather bad first impression in front of his new coach, who will undoubtedly try to replace the forward with Bukayo Saka when he returns, by losing the ball nine times.

On social media, supporters quickly noticed Foden’s difficulties and expressed their opinions regarding the Manchester City player’s prospects for playing for his country.

England Fans React to Foden Performance

Supporters made their feelings clear on the attacking midfielder

Social media reactions to the City star were predictably very harsh, with many supporters arguing that he shouldn’t continue to play such a significant role for the Three Lions. “Foden literally boils my blood, that guy is so useless,” one fan said on X, while another added, “Foden’s just useless, like very very useless.”

“Foden shouldn’t be starting for England anymore,” a third person remarked, echoing the feeling of a fourth person who said, “Foden is so bad.” Why are we forced to tolerate this? A fifth even went so far as to call Foden “garbage for England,” leaving another manager to solve the enigma of how to get the best out of the obviously gifted attacker wearing a white jersey.