Football News: Cesc Fabregas Urges Phil Foden to Step Up for England at Euro 2024

Cesc Fabregas, the former Barcelona and Spain midfielder, has challenged Phil Foden to take more responsibility if he wants to be considered among the elite players like Xavi and Andres Iniesta.

Foden, the Manchester City star, was expected to have a big impact in England’s Euro 2024 opener against Serbia, but the 24-year-old endured a subdued performance in Germany. While Jude Bellingham shone as the undoubted star of the show, leading Gareth Southgate’s side to a 1-0 victory in Group C, Foden was one of the players who failed to live up to expectations.

Fabregas, who played alongside Xavi and Iniesta at Barcelona, was disappointed with Foden’s display, saying, “It’s mindset, it’s all about the mentality. You can’t tell me that players like Trent [Alexander-Arnold], Foden, Bellingham or [Declan] Rice don’t have the quality to hold the ball up anywhere on the pitch, but it’s about if you want it enough.”

“The way we see Jude [Bellingham] getting the ball, imposing himself, he [Foden] owes us this class. He needs to do that himself,” Fabregas added. “A player of this class, this level and this talent doesn’t even need to be told by the coach what to do. He needs to want it more than the rest and today it showed that Jude is a little bit above him in this regard and he needs to get this personality back.”

The Spaniard highlighted Foden’s tendency to hit long balls without looking, something he says is uncharacteristic of top players like Xavi and Iniesta. Fabregas believes Foden needs to take more responsibility and show the same level of impact as Bellingham, who he described as being “a little bit above him in this regard.”

Foden will have the chance to prove Fabregas wrong when England face Denmark on Thursday evening in their next Euro 2024 match, which will be live on talkSPORT, kick-off 5pm.

🔗 Source