Phil Foden is hoping England can be the dominant side in their Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands as he aims to return home with a winners’ medal to show his new son.
England are looking to make it back-to-back European Championship finals by beating the Dutch in Dortmund, having seen off Switzerland in a penalty shoot-out to reach the last four.
While most of their performances in Germany have drawn criticism, there were moments of progress in the win over the Swiss as manager Gareth Southgate reverted to a three-man defence.
That shift allowed Foden and Jude Bellingham to both operate in number 10 roles, with the former in particular having struggled to impact earlier games from the left wing.
“I enjoyed it a lot,” he said of the change of position.
“I felt like it suited me a bit more, being more central. It’s the best we’ve probably played in this tournament as well. We want to keep improving and take that into the semi now.
“Me and Jude had to stay a bit patient in the pockets and hopefully the lads can find us in between the lines.
The start of what we hope will be an incredible week.
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“We spoke about that, staying patient in our positions. I felt like last game was a lot of improvement, me and Jude linking up well and changing positions.
“Gareth doesn’t want us to just stick to one position, he gives us freedom, which helps a lot.”
The Manchester City forward went on to explain why he felt the change of shape also brought out a more dynamic England side.
“Our pressing was unbelievable, so much better than the other games,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“Hopefully, going into the Netherlands (clash), we can see the same. Pressing high, lots of attacks, a lot of possession. That’s how I see this England side playing – as a dominant side.
“I feel like there are so many gears to go and we can get so much better. That’s the big positive because we’re still reaching the semi-finals.
“When we’re not playing our best, we can still grind out results. So if we show the other side, pressing, keeping the ball a lot better, we’ll be that dominant England.”
Foden may have endured a topsy-turvy tournament but he has also become a father for the third time, flying home as planned between the last group game against Slovenia and the round-of-16 victory over Slovakia to be at the birth.
“Everything’s well,” he said of his latest addition.
“Obviously looking forward to going back after the tournament. Hopefully I can go back with a medal and I’m looking forward to meeting him.
“It doesn’t help I’m away a lot of the time, I miss valuable time with the kids but when I’m at home, I help as much as I can.
“It is tough, yeah. Everyone goes through it in the team, missing a lot of time, birthdays, important things, but it’s what we have to do to be professional and do our job. Sometimes it’s difficult.
“I did say when Jude scored (against Slovakia) and I was walking around the pitch, I was 30 seconds away from going home to do the bottle-feed! The same in the penalty shoot-out but the lads never looked like they were going to miss.”