Gareth Southgate says they need to be careful with the way they introduce youngster Phil Foden in order not to affect his career.
The Manchester City midfielder, Foden has been limited to just 19 minutes of football at the World Cup so far but fans have been clamouring for the introduction of the 22-year-old to the team.
Foden could feature for the Three Lions when the face Wales tonight, with Southgate tipped to make changes, but the England boss has warned against expecting too much from Foden at this stage of his career.
“We have to be careful because we are putting a lot of pressure on him now,” he said.
“We’re a team and we need all of the players and they can all play a part but not any one of them is the reason we will win or lose.
“We need to make sure we are not building Phil into a situation where actually if he steps on the pitch this is becoming really difficult for him because the level of expectation is beyond a young guy who is still establishing himself internationally, in a different environment from his club where you’re comfortable with all the players you play with, it’s really distinctive, you’re going home every night, you’re calm with everything else.
“This is still a unique environment. He is still a really young player and he’s doing brilliantly well and we love him to bits. We also have got to look after him a bit as well.
“We are really happy with Phil, we are really happy to have Phil. He is going to play a big part in this tournament, there is no doubt in my mind about that.”
