Phil Foden admits he has a made a ‘slow start’ to Euro 2024 personally but he is ‘growing into the tournament’ and the best is yet to come from England too.
“The aim is to keep growing and building on our performances,” he told BBC Radio Five Live. “I think you’ve seen it as well in the last game, our pressing was unbelievable – so much better than the other games.
Semi-finals locked in 🔒
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— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) July 7, 2024
“Hopefully going into the Netherlands game you can see the same things, pressing high, a lot of attacks, a lot of possession. That’s how I see this England side playing, a dominant side.
“I feel like there’s so many gears to go, I feel like we can get so much better. That’s a big positive because we’re still reaching the semi-final.
“It just shows even when we’re not playing at our best that we can grind out results, which is nice to see.”
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‘Win it for Gareth’
Foden said members of the squad were keen to beat Switzerland for Southgate on his 100th game in charge, adding: “It was a big achievement for him. A few of the lads were saying we wanna do it for him and win the game. Gareth being Gareth he didn’t make it about himself, he said that’s the least relevant thing.
“To win in the way we did, it gives us that extra confidence and that togetherness that we need. And for Gareth to share that moment with the fans was special.
“Gareth has built off the field a real togetherness and a real family. I feel like you can see that on the pitch. We push each other on the pitch. We never give up until the final whistle. It just shows the bond that we have.”
Foden said he thinks the signs are good that he and Jude Bellingham are compatible in twin attacking roles behind Harry Kane.
“I feel like that last game there was a lot of improvement,” he said. “Me and Jude linking up well, changing positions as well. I know it’s big with Gareth, he doesn’t want us to stick to one position, he gives us freedom, which helps us a lot.
“I felt like it suited me a little bit more, playing more centrally. I feel like that’s the best we’ve probably played in this tournament.
“There’s still a lot of steps to improve, we know there’s more to our game.. We wanna keep improving and take that to the semi now, the confidence that we’re playing with is high.”
Agent Jimmy helping plot Netherlands downfall
Foden also praised former Netherlands striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink who is part of Gareth Southgate’s backroom team.
The former Leeds and Chelsea striker played at the 1998 World Cup for his country but is now trying to stop them from reaching the Euro 2024 final and his influence was credited for helping England overcome Switzerland in the last-eight.
“Jimmy’s been working hard with us to do penalties after training. I feel like we were ready for the occasion. I was a bit surprised myself to be honest, to see the five takers, how confident they were, because… you’ve got the world on your shoulders.
A wonderful moment between Middlesbrough legends Gareth Southgate and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink 🥹❤️#Boro | #UTB | #BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/Cp6VqhSX5X
— BBC Sport Tees (@BBCTeesSport) July 6, 2024
“They were just full of confidence and slotted them away. He’s helping us a lot, obviously Jimmy’s got a lot of experience in the game, so he knows his stuff. They’ve been taking few of us after training to practice penalties – we have to be prepared as best we can, if it ever gets to a shootout, we’re more than ready to take them.”
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Foden suggested there had been a time when England practised spot-kicks too often and added: “We have Jimmy for that reason, to only take a couple (of us), not overdo it, and practise your spot and sticking with it.
“There’s a lot of work going into it now off the field as well, and all that data and stuff, it definitely helps out on the field.
“We’ve got some of the best takers in the world. I don’t feel like it’s a lottery, I feel like we don’t want to make it a lottery, we want to try and have that extra one or two per cent that goes in our favour so that’s what we’re working on in training.”
Foden left the camp briefly during the group phase to attend the birth of his third child and said he cannot wait to get home to see his family – hopefully with a winner’s medal around his neck.
“Obviously I am looking forward to getting back after the tournament. Hopefully I can go back with a medal. It’s been a long time out here.”
