Gabby Agbonlahor says he has noticed Phil Foden doing something at Euro 2024 that he doesn’t at Manchester City.

Foden is gearing up for the semi-finals of the tournament with England, after they beat Switzerland on penalties on Sunday evening.

England were not great again against the Swiss, but were marginally better than in the previous games. But there was no denying their quality from the penalty spot.

England needed a shootout to get past Switzerland and scored five perfect spot-kicks, with Manuel Akanji the unfortunate player to miss.

It was another game without a goal or assist for Foden, who has not had a particularly good tournament. While he has not been as poor as some have made out, he has certainly not translated his club form over to the national team.

And Agbonlahor said this morning he has seen Foden doing something he tends not to do for City.

Phil Foden accused of ‘taking shots from unrealistic areas’ for England

Against Switzerland, Foden was finally moved inside, after playing four games mostly out on the left.

He and Jude Bellingham operated as number 10s, with Gareth Southgate lining up with three centre-backs and wing-backs.

Foden ran his socks off for England, but still couldn’t really show the kind of high levels City fans got so used to in 2023/24.

Foden has yet to score or assist in Germany, and Agbonlahor feels the 24-year-old is taking on shots from positions that don’t really demand it. And he feels the reigning Premier League Player of the Season should be dropped against the Netherlands.

He said on talkSPORT on Monday morning: “You know what I have noticed about Foden? He has got a bit better, but he is taking shots from unrealistic areas of the pitch and are getting blocked.

“He is snatching at chances. I wouldn’t mind seeing Foden replaced maybe by Palmer or Eze, but I don’t see it happening. I don’t see many changes for this game.”

Foden is desperate to silence the doubters

It has been understandable to see Foden shooting from ‘unrealistic’ areas, because we have seen how much his shooting ability has improved in recent times. It is something he says he has worked on.

Last season, he picked up the nickname ‘The Sniper’ from his City teammates because of how deadly accurate he had become at shooting from distance.

But there is also probably the fact that Foden is aware of the criticism of him in an England shirt and is determined to lash one in from range to silence the doubters. He did speak publicly recently about his frustrations at Euro 2024, and even said ‘I want to try and score’.

Foden should not concern himself so much with trying to score. He just needs to do his best for the team.

He’s been improving as the tournament has gone on, and he just needs to shine as a team player in the semi-final and hopefully the final.

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