Jamie Carragher excited by Phil Foden's performance against Iceland

Jamie Carragher believes Gareth Southgate has a rare English talent on his hands in Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden.

Foden impressed as the Three Lions secured a commanding 4-0 win over Iceland in the UEFA Nations League on Wednesday night.

The 20-year-old scored England’s third and fourth goals – his first ever at senior international level – at Wembley, provided the assist for Declan Rice’s opener and showed some sublimes touches.

Foden was recalled by Southgate for this month’s internationals after being sent home for breaching coronavirus protocols in Iceland in September and former England defender Carragher has hailed the youngster’s talents.   

‘He’s just a quality player. Wherever he is he can probably handle the ball as well as anyone in the England team,’ he told Sky Sports.

‘England don’t really produce players like Foden and that’s why he’s so exciting. I think he could play the role [Mason] Mount played tonight as well. 

‘The good thing for me was getting four quality attacking players onto that pitch. It was nice to see the interchanging of players who looked like they were enjoying playing.’

Foden’s first goal was a clinical one-touch finish in the box while his second was from long range and Carragher believes Foden trying his luck from distance is refreshing.

‘I think a lot of players are probably discouraged to have shots from distance, getting into expected goals, getting really technical ideas,’ he added.

‘We don’t see it as often as we used to in the past, [Paul] Scholes, [Steven] Gerrard, [Frank] Lampard hitting so many shots in a game, but he definitely looks like he’s got the ability to strike the ball cleanly from that distance. 

‘Phil’s perfect coming inside on that left foot, that’s a big part of his armoury as a player. He says he wants to improve it so we know it’s in his head.’

Meanwhile former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane praised Foden’s display on Wednesday night and compared him to United legend Scholes.

‘I love this first goal, we’re talking about making runs in the box right at the end, a bit like Paul Scholes used to do. Sometimes it’s about standing still and that’s football intelligence,’ he told ITV.

‘He’s 20 years of age. Excellent performance. He made a mistake a couple of months ago. He’ll be delighted with that. He’s a great prospect.’ 

Foden thanked manager Southgate for the shot at redemption in the win over Iceland having being sent home in disgrace for inviting girls back to the team hotel.

‘It was one of the hardest moments of my life to be honest,’ said Foden. ‘That is the time you need the trust of your managers and Gareth had a lot of respect for me to play me and trust me. It means everything. I am just happy to repay him with the goals and play well.

‘I was determined to get back and do the best as I can. I was a little bit nervous but I enjoyed it a lot. My first goals for England mean a lot to me. I just couldn’t stop smiling. It was an unbelievable feeling. When you score your confidence is high I took the second goal well from outside the box.’