Thomas Tuchel will have “no problem” with Phil Foden as England’s centre-forward if Harry Kane is sidelined after Manchester City striker Phil Foden made a surprise ‘false nine’ appearance against Serbia.
After an hour, Foden impressed as number nine, replacing England captain Kane. Eberechi Eze’s goal in the 90th minute led to a 2-0 win, while also creating another opportunity for the Arsenal forward who hit the crossbar.
There has been much talk about England’s lack of back-up striker options to top scorer Kane for the Three Lions during the November international break, but Tuchel believes he has other options on deck.
Tuchel said it was “absolutely a chance” whether Foden would get the chance to take on the role if something happens to Kane.
“If Phil maintains his form and form there is no problem (playing him as a number 9). “I have other options in mind that I don’t want to discuss publicly.
Thomas Tuchel placed Phil Foden in number 9.
“Don’t forget we have Ollie Watkins and (Danny) Welbeck (maybe) as more No 9s and Harry has other options.”
“We have a lot of options, but it probably comes down to who is fit, what we have in the squad, how we share time, who we play and what we expect from the game.”
When asked if Foden could challenge Kane if he continues his good form at City, Tuchel replied: “Well, it’s a big ask to challenge Harry at the moment. He’s in the form of his life. The attitude, work rate, quality and finishing percentage are out of control in this world.
“But here too (for Phil), he could be an accomplice with Harry and share a few minutes in crucial games.
“It occurred to me a few months ago, because I played against him in those positions. I got the feeling in the Premier League that he was really strong with little moves, little counter-attacks, little goals. City were very dominant in these little positions – the pocket, the half-turn. And he was shooting, one-twoing, assisting a little bit off the ball, so you couldn’t catch him.”
“Of course, when we made the long list of 50 or 60 players it was of outstanding quality and I expected him to come out of the first camp and then have had a difficult time at City.”
“And now he’s back at City. He’s actually played in a deeper role, almost like a number eight. So we’ll see how this all plays out, but I wanted to see him near the opposition box, I wanted to see him in the middle of traffic, surrounded by a lot of players.”
Foden: The smile is back. False Nine can bring me the best results.
After the game, Foden admitted he had done “well” in the role and hoped the position change would allow him to show his best form for England.
“I thought I did well, I created a few chances and it was unfortunate I didn’t miss a few,” he told ITV Sport. “Overall I have to be pleased with the impact.
“I will play wherever the manager tells me to play. I can play a variety of positions and I was happy to step up as a false nine. I really enjoyed it. Maybe that will be the best for me. Only time will tell.”
“There are quality players all over the pitch. I know there is pressure to play for Manchester City. You have to put your head down and get your bearings. The smile is back.”
Analysis: Can Foden feature for England?
Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz at Wembley:
Thomas Tuchel’s tactical nous came out at Wembley.
As England struggled in the first 25 minutes, he moved Kane deeper and pushed Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford further behind and the Three Lions were ahead three minutes after a touchline tactical time-out.
But seeing Foden come on as a false nine showed just how complicated Tuchel can be in his pursuit of success.
It’s actually no surprise that Foden took on the role. he really have He previously played for Man City. His 1,056 league minutes for Pep Guardiola’s side over the past four years add up to nearly 12 90-minute appearances.
Phil Foden’s minutes per position
Tuchel also mentioned the possibility of Foden as number 9 at the pre-game press conference.
The problem Tuchel has is that Kane goes deep and Foden naturally becomes a midfielder. Where is the threat behind the central striker?
Some would point out that the area is large. For example, against Serbia, Saka and Eze scored. However, this leaves England’s game plan without depth.
For all of England’s success in this group, they failed to score their opener before the 20th minute. It’s not difficult to prepare and handle almost a quarter of the game. At the highest level, these periods cannot be taken for granted.
Yes, in some of the qualifiers the game started off slow against low blocks and we were still up 3-0 at half time. Wales were dismantled early on but they were foolishly bold against the Three Lions attack at Wembley.
But England will face better opposition and a better defense. They need something different off the bench. Tuchel has identified Watkins and Welbeck as more natural No. 9 options who can be used as wildcards.
And if he can solve the ‘Plan B’ centre-forward conundrum right away through Foden and another player, he will be one step closer to completing the England squad.
