Even while there have been discussions about the Three Lions' performance against the USA, the main topic of conversation seems to have been why Phil Foden hasn't yet played against Wales on Tuesday night.
In stark contrast to the 6-2 victory over Iran, Gareth Southgate's team struggled to create any cohesiveness against Christian Pulisic and company. Jack Grealish, Jordan Henderson, and Marcus Rashford were the three substitutions the England manager made out of a total of five.
Many may have anticipated that the Man City winger, who has scored eight goals and contributed three assists in 20 games this season, would start the tournament for Southgate. There was a strong desire to have him introduced as a result of England's lack of originality.Wayne Bridge believes the critique of England has been overstated, and suggests Southgate will be happy with the result with Foden remaining on the bench being indicative of that.
He said: "We're sat in a good position and you don't have to play great in every game to win a World Cup. I'm sure the lads will put better performances in but I don't think it was as bad as made out.
"Wales have got to beat us by a lot of goals for England to not get through so it is a good result, and he showed that by putting Jordan Henderson on because he could have put Phil Foden on to go and get the win. He's probably happy with the result and they're sat in a good position."
The places of Mason Mount and Raheem Sterling have come under scrutiny due to the desire for Foden to be introduced. The Blues duo have been trusted players under Southgate however, and while their Premier League form has not been at it's finest, Sterling has shown in the past his ability to produce for England irrespective of his domestic outings.
Bridge suggests the pair's familiarity and role in the squad behind the scenes could be a key factor in Southgate's decision.
The 42-year-old said: "Their ability speaks for itself. Great players, when I look at them from the outside-in, they play with a lot of confidence. They seem like confident young lads and confidence is massive in a World Cup. From what you see, they seem to get on with all the players and there seems to be a great bond with all the players and they are definitely a major part of that. You can see a lot of the players are friends and they end up playing for the same clubs so I think that's massive, massively important."
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