“I’m glad he did that now” - Phil Foden responds after claims on him not wanting to take England penalty during Euro 2024 shootout win
England midfielder Phil Foden has responded to claims that he didn't want to take penalties during the Euro 2024 quarter-final shootout win over Switzerland earlier this week in Dusseldorf. The Three Lions won 5-3 after a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes.
Foden, 24, was the fifth and final player subbed out by boss Gareth Southgate, coming off for Trent Alexander-Arnold with five minutes remaining in extra time. Alexander-Arnold would eventually score the winning penalty to take the Three Lions through to the semi-finals.
As per Metro, Alexander-Arnold reportedly told two of his friends after the shootout win that one Three Lions player didn't want to take penalties. That's widely speculated to be Foden, considering how late he came off.
However, the Manchester City man told talkSPORT that wasn't the case but admitted that there are better penalty takers than him:
"I would have taken one if I was still on the pitch, but I think there’s players who take them regularly for their clubs, so it makes sense for them to take them. I think that’s what Gareth did, put the best penalty-takers on the pitch. I’m glad he did that now because it definitely worked in our favour.
"I feel like it’s a confidence thing, if you belief you’re going to score you can definitely be a penalty-taker. Like I said, I wouldn’t have minded taking one if I was still on the pitch, but there’s probably better penalty-takers than me.’
The Three Lions next take on the Netherlands in the second Euro 2024 semi-final in Dortmund on Wednesday (July 10) as a place in the Berlin final on Sunday (July 14) beckons.
How has Phil Foden fared for England at Euro 2024?
Phil Foden has had a quiet Euro 2024 campaign for England. A regular starter in all five games, the Manchester City man is yet to make a goal contribution in the tournament.
Much of that can be be attributed to Foden playing in an unfamiliar deep role in midfield, which has limited his creativity. He played more upfield against Switzerland, but the 24-year-old had limited impact.
Overall, Foden has scored just four times and provided eight assists in 39 games for England since his international debut in a 1-0 win at Iceland in the UEFA Nations League in September 2020. He's without a goal contribution in eight games at the Euros across two editions.