Jamie Carragher has questioned Gareth Southgate’s ‘baffling’ decision to leave Phil Foden on the bench in England’s disappointing goalless draw against USA and Friday.

After hammering Iran 6-2 on Monday, Southgate opted to go with an unchanged line-up, meaning Foden was named among the substitutes again.

It quickly became apparent that this wasn’t going to be a one-sided affair, but as the England boss turned to his substitutes in the second half, he brought on Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford to replace Raheem Sterling and Bukayo Saka, leaving Foden to watch on from the sidelines.

Foden has played just 19 minutes in the tournament so far after coming on as a late substitute against Iran, but Carragher feels this needs to change, and has admitted his surprise that the Manchester City star has been used so sparingly.

‘I was among those hoping Gareth Southgate would turn to the Manchester City youngster. It was baffling that he remained on the bench when the game was crying out for his creativity,’ Carragher wrote in his column for The Telegraph.

‘If you had told me before the tournament that Foden would only feature for 19 minutes of the first two World Cup games, my initial thought would be he must be injured.

‘When asked to select my starting XI for the opening fixture against Iran, Foden was in it. The more the squad was studied, the harder it was to leave him out. He is too much of a special talent.

‘Speak to any football supporter watching the Premier League over the last three years and ask ‘who is the most naturally gifted English footballer today?’ and 80 per cent would say Foden. The other 20 per cent are not watching closely enough.

‘For Southgate to turn to his substitutes and opt for his City team-mate Jack Grealish ahead of him felt strange. Would Pep Guardiola look to Grealish before Foden if seeking a winning goal? Highly unlikely.’

These Carragher’s comments on Foden shared on Twitter gathered a number of replies from a wide range of Man City supporters.

“Carra speaking facts”
Credit: @JackMCI_

“Jamie knows ball”
Credit: @Mcfc_Kevinn

“Liverpool and united legends crying out for foden, he has the streets”
Credit: @cae0000

“Foden has well and truly owned the streets”
Credit: @registarodri

“We all know. Just Southgate doesnt have a clue like pep how to play him. Maybe pep should give him a call and say he can play anywhere”
Credit: @dannyfox15mcfc

“What killed it for me was Southgate saying after the game that he didn’t think it was the right type of game to bring Foden on through the middle and Grealish and Rashford were the better options out wide… Did he actually forget he was playing Mount through the middle all game”
Credit: @mackyd78

“Half of me glad Phil might come home fully fit, angry at being dropped by a third rate manager, with something to prove….”
Credit: @davidyelland

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