Cesc Fabregas put Micah Richards in his place with Phil Foden analysis which every England fan needs to hear

Cesc Fabregas 'put Micah Richards in his place' with a fascinating piece of analysis on Phil Foden amid the star player's England struggles.

Foden started in Thomas Tuchel's first starting XI for England, who beat Albania 2-0 to kick off their World Cup qualifying campaign with a routine victory.

But the 24-year-old failed to impress Tuchel, who called out the Manchester City star following the result.

Fans and critics alike also made their feelings known as Manchester United legend Roy Keane pulled no punches in a scathing assessment.

At last summer's Euro 2024, Foden was singled out for his underwhelming performances, with ex-Man City defender Richards jumping to his defence.

Speaking after England's 1-0 win over Serbia at Euro 2024, Richards said: "The big talking point for me tonight was Phil Foden. I think the first 20 minutes he got into some really good positions. We need to find a way to get the best out of him.

"He wasn't involved. At Manchester City we obviously know it's choreographed with the system and the movements and all those sorts of things. But it makes me sad when I see a player of this quality just in and out of games."

Phil Foden in action for England. Image: Getty

Former Arsenal and Chelsea star Fabregas replied: "Micah, I totally agree, but the same way that you see Jude imposing himself, wanting the ball, getting face to face against an opponent. He oozes this class. [Foden] needs to do that himself as well."

Richards added: "I totally agree with you, but Jude, in the centre of the park, he can do that. Off the ball, [Foden] is coming from a wide position. It's very difficult when Jude's got the freedom of the pitch and Phil is having to go from pressing out wide, to coming in midfield. He's playing with [Kieran] Trippier, who's not right-footed, he needs [Luke] Shaw to go and overlap so he can get those combinations.

“It's just sad to see because this season he's been immense. Watch Man City every other week and the stuff that he's doing for Man City we need to see it in an England shirt.”

But Fabregas was having none of it as he insisted Foden 'needs to want it more'.

He argued: "I love that you try to defend him, seriously, I get your point totally. But a player of this class, of this level, of this talent, for me sometimes, he doesn't even need to be told by the coach what he needs to do.

"He needs to want it more than the rest and for me today, it showed that Jude is a little bit above him in this regard."

Foden has consistently performed for Man City and scored 27 goals before last summer's Euro 2024.

But he couldn't transfer his club form to the international scene as he was unable to make a telling impact in Germany last summer.