‘Marcus Rashford to beat on-brink Phil Foden to England recall after Tuchel rebuke’
Marcus Rashford is in a much better position than Phil Foden to hold down a place in the England side after the pair were slammed by Thomas Tuchel and others against Albania.
It was a successful start to life as Three Lions manager for Tuchel on Friday night (21 March), with a 2-0 win at Wembley.
A debut goal from Arsenal ace Myles Lewis-Skelly, and yet another strike for Harry Kane, proved enough to secure three points in the first qualifier for next year’s World Cup.
However, not everything worked out for England in that game, with the performances of Rashford and Foden proving a significant concern.
Aston Villa and Man City stars flop for England
After being handed places in the starting XI, both Rashford and Foden failed to impress for England in the first game of this new era.
The Three Lions rarely saw any threat or supply of chances from the wide roles where the two were operating on either side of the pitch.
Both players were substituted during the second half and speaking after the game the new manager admitted he wanted to see more of an impact from his wingers.
Indeed, that has already led to claims that both Rashford and Foden are at risk of losing their England places as others wait in the wings.
Yet in spite of that, Rashford should surely at least feel more confident than Foden that he will be able to keep his place in the starting XI going forward.
Marcus Rashford has advantages over Phil Foden
Right now, things are not going well at all for Foden at club level, in what has been a relatively dismal campaign for his Man City side, despite winning PFA Player of the Year just a season ago.
Pep Guardiola’s team look set to give up their Premier League title with little more than a whimper, and have just the FA Cup left to play for in terms of silverware.
Within that, Foden has produced a number of individually below-par performances for Man City over the course of the campaign.
| Phil Foden for Man City in 2024/25 | Total (as per Transfermarkt) |
| Appearances | 38 |
| Goals | 10 |
| Assists | 6 |
| Yellow Cards | 2 |
| Red Cards | 0 |
By contrast, Rashford has won plenty of praise for his efforts at Aston Villa since joining on loan from Man United earlier in the season, with the loan move seemingly freeing him from a malaise which had seen him miss out at Euro 2024 under Gareth Southgate.
The fact he is performing well for his club, does at least ensure he has some form to use to make a case to Tuchel when it comes to keeping his place in the England side.
It is also worth noting that it was Foden who played on the right for the Three Lions against Albania, a position Arsenal talisman Bukayo Saka will be expect to return to when he is back from injury.
Morgan Rogers is another who could stake a claim for that role, having played there for Aston Villa recently.
By contrast there is a less clear option to replace Rashford on the left, particularly after Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon was forced off just moments after coming on for England in the Albania game.
That may also mean Tuchel has to persevere with the Aston Villa star for the time being in that role, giving him more of a chance to make it his own for the time being.
With that in mind, while Foden may be fearing that his England spot is currently on the brink, Rashford has more reason to be confident that he will still get the chance to salvage his international career.