Gareth Southgate reveals conversation with Phil Foden after winger was subbed off after 11 minutes

Gareth Southgate has revealed that Phil Foden understood the decision to replace him 11 minutes after his appearance in England’s 2-1 win over Italy.

Southgate’s Three Lions beat the reigning European champions on Thursday night thanks to goals from Harry Kane and Declan Rice.

But it wasn’t easy for Southgate’s men, who had to battle to victory with 10 men for the last 10 minutes of the match.

Man United fullback Luke Shaw was sent off for a second yellow card that night and that forced the England manager to bring Foden out, despite only bringing him on 11 minutes earlier.

There was speculation that he may have caused some unease within the England pitch, but Southgate has insisted the Man City winger understood the situation. Foden could return to the starting XI for England’s clash against Ukraine on Sunday, which is broadcast live on Channel 4.

Foden was dropped just 11 minutes after coming on as England were reduced to 10 men.

Southgate said: ‘No, he [Foden] He came up to me and said: ‘I know, I understand’; she knew exactly what we had to do.

‘Obviously you don’t want to do that, but we needed to get full backup.

“And we felt that the change in form with them having to play around us but having enough bodies to deal with the crosses but with full-backs to stop those crosses was the right way to avoid that.”

Foden entered the game on 69 minutes, with England already leading 2-1, and took the place of his City teammate Jack Grealish.

His time on the pitch was short-lived, however, as he was soon replaced by Newcastle winger Kieran Trippier.

The change proved useful as the Three Lions held on for victory, with Southgate later praising his side’s performances on the night.

The Three Lions boss said: ‘Yes, Declan had a top level of performance in midfield. I thought he, Kalvin [Phillips] and judas [Bellingham]and given the level of experience of the other team, they were excellent.

‘We managed to put pressure on them well. There were a lot of periods where it was a very good performance by the team and a lot of moments where the midfield had to do the basics to win second balls and then you’re in attack and it’s an ugly phase. But it was really important in the context of the game.”

harry kane becomeEngland’s all-time leading goalscorer after scoring the winning goal in the win as the Three Lions got their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign off to the best possible start.

Foden was withdrawn when Southgate reshuffled their package due to Luke Shaw’s red card.

The Man City winger has scored three goals in 22 appearances for the England first team