"Won the contest without even being in London" - Fans name England player who should start ahead of Phil Foden after Three Lions lose to Iceland

Fans on social media have named Jude Bellingham as the player who should play ahead of Phil Foden, as England were beaten 1-0 by Iceland at Wembley Stadium. Notably, Bellingham was not part of the squad that Gareth Southgate picked for their final friendly ahead of the EUROs in Germany.

Strakarnir okkar were quick to stamp their presence in London, as they took the lead with just 12 minutes on the clock. Hakon Haraldsson was key in the counter-attack early on, releasing Jon Thornsteinsson on the left. The winger drove inwards, putting the ball on his right foot, before powering a low piledriver into the bottom corner beyond Aaron Ramsdale's gloves.

England had more than 80 minutes - injury time included - to find the equalizer or maybe even a win, but they were unable to string enough passes to put anyone through. The Three Lions had just one shot on target, compared to Iceland's four, and the clinical touch never showed up throughout the game.

One player who performed rather poorly was Phil Foden, as the Manchester City attacker found it difficult to break through Iceland's tight box. He couldn't get an accurate cross to his teammates, and he managed just five passes into the final third, even though he spent 90 minutes on the pitch.

This led fans to social media, as they clamored for Jude Bellingham to start games ahead of Foden:

"No bigger fan of Foden than me as 10 but Bellingham won the contest without even being in London..." said Stan Collymore.

"So many times for England Foden looks a shadow of the player he is at city, doesn’t make sense," another fan added.

"I like Foden. But he will never work well in Southgate's England. Gordon, Bellingham, Saka and Trent to start the next game," a third noted.

"Palmer and Foden. Clowns. They need Bellingham," another warned.

"Foden and Mainoo taking up Saka's spaces, can’t wait for Bellingham. Why has Southgate told Foden to come to the right hand side when he was better on the left ffs," a fan complained.

"This England team is shiiiii without Jude Bellingham.., Foden who?" said a fan.

"Foden has been terrible, the debate between him and Bellingham as number 10 is now over," a fan added.

Others added:

---

Gareth Southgate explains why he dropped Jack Grealish out of England squad

England boss Gareth Southgate has revealed his reasons for dropping Jack Grealish, and other players like James Maddison, from the Three Lions squad. The Manchester City winger partook in the World Cup in Qatar, making a total of 36 caps for the national team.

However, Grealish struggled to find form and playing time last season at the Etihad Stadium. Southgate explained (via Manchester World):

“We just feel other players had stronger seasons, particularly in the last six months or so. Attacking areas, in particular, we’re blessed with a lot of options, all slightly different."

Grealish will hope he can return to form for Manchester City and potentially return to the Three Lions squad in due course.