Micah Richards accuses England boss Gareth Southgate of ‘playing Phil Foden out of position’ and calls for Jude Bellingham to be sacrificed to put Man City’s star in his favourite spot

Micah Richards has slammed England manager Gareth Southgate for abusing Phil Foden in his side’s unconvincing 1-0 against Serbia on Sunday evening.

England took as many as three points thanks to Jude Bellingham’s header in the thirteenth minute, but struggled to create clear chances, with Foden unable to make an impact from the left wing.

Richards was frustrated to see Foden, who was named Premier League Player of the Year last month after winning the title with Manchester City, not operating in a central area.

He is convinced Southgate should move Foden into the number 10 role for England’s next match against Denmark, even if it means moving Bellingham out of his favored position.

Richards talked about his frustrations The rest is football podcast: ‘Phillip Foden. Phillip f—ing Foden. I’m not going to curse because he doesn’t deserve it. What can you do? I told you it doesn’t work.

‘It works for Man City if he plays on the right or on the left or as a number 10 because of the rotation.

‘You know how Pep sets up his sides. There will be movement, rotation, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Grealish, Doku, whatever it is next to Haaland up front. I just don’t think there’s enough of that in England and sometimes he remains isolated.

‘Me and Cesc [Fabregas] then had a very good debate. He said I was protective [Foden]I wasn’t protecting Foden, but it’s frustrating. I felt for him. With Foden it is so disheartening to see a player of that quality being played out of position.

‘Cesc was right, on the ball, he shifted to the number 10 role but he still had to press on the left and when he got the ball it was almost like he was a bit lethargic. We are talking about a player with the ability of Phil Foden, he is the best at receiving the ball during the half turn.

‘So he has to play number 10, say [Jude] Bellingham further back alongside [Declan] Rice and play Foden in the 10. I said to Iceland: he didn’t have the best games in the 10, but other players have had other opportunities to play in their favorite positions and if we continue with that, he can have an impact with this team .’

Richards’ opinion is likely to spark much debate as Bellingham was widely seen as England’s best player against Serbia.

The Real Madrid midfielder was at the center of the action in the first half, with his goal capping off a fine display.

Richards is confident Foden and Bellingham can play together in a three-way match, but Southgate is reluctant to try them out with Declan Rice.

England have previously had problems fitting all their world-class midfielders into the same squad, most notably when Sven-Goran Eriksson had Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes at his disposal at the 2004 Euros.

The Swede opted to play all three, but Scholes was moved to the left flank and he retired from international football after the tournament after a disappointing campaign.

Reflecting on Southgate’s current dilemma, Gary Lineker admitted he had some sympathy for Foden but hinted he expects more from the City star regardless of what position he plays.

He also wondered whether Southgate could turn things around against Denmark by bringing in a more natural left winger like Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon.

“Phil Foden, I think, was caught between a rock and a hard place in the sense that he starts in that position. He’s been told he can come in, but coming in from a wide position is different to starting in the middle and being able to go either way,” Lineker said.

‘At the same time you think, “Come on Phil, you’re so talented, you can fix things,” but if you don’t feel comfortable…

“It will be interesting to see how Gareth handles that situation on the left because in Gordon you have an obvious player who can play on the left.”