Phil Foden returned to England on Thursday night after leaving the camp on Wednesday to the UK for the birth of his third child. Foden and his partner, Rebecca Cooke, who have two other kids, welcomed a baby boy. Foden and his partner announced they are expecting another child in April. The Manchester City star left for the UK temporarily on Tuesday after a 0-0 draw with Slovenia that secured the England team a top sport in Group C.
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According to sources, Foden returned to training on Friday morning and is expected to play on Sunday in England's Euro 2024 round of 16 against Slovakia in Gelsenkirchen, although he missed the knockout stage preparations. The 24-year-old Manchester City forward has started in all three of England's Euro games so far. So far, Foden has played a total of 248 minutes at Euro 2024.
Apart from Foden, Declan Rice and Kieran Trippier also missed the Thursday training session to cope with their workloads but both are expected to be ready for the weekend clash. Luke Shaw took part in the training and is expected to make an appearance after dealing with a hamstring issue for more than four months. Antony Gordon and Cole Palmer are also expected to be featured after coming off the bench on the match against Slovenia.
Southgate is under pressure to make changes ahead of the Slovakia clash, although he is unlikely to make many changes. He has resisted opinions to drop Phil Foden or Jude Bellingham. The coach has faced heavy criticism but he is still convinced England have the route to glory.
We need the whole team. I'm proud of what the players did, they showed the right mentality, they showed bravery in a difficult environment at times. They showed patience and we didn't quite get what they deserved from the game but they have to keep going and in the end things will turn.
