England U17 World Cup winners almost all stagnating in club reserves 2 years on

Phil Foden is the poster boy for England’s next generation of talent. Dig a little deeper, though, and the picture of youth development in this country is uncertain.

The Manchester City starlet scored a wonder-goal against France in England Under-21s’ European Championship opener last week. And he can expect to play a key role as the Blues target a hat-trick of Premier League titles next season.

It seems a natural career progression for a teenager who was the star turn for England U17s when they won their World Cup two years ago.

But, while Foden is on the verge of becoming a first-team regular at City, many of his former England team-mates are finding breaking into first-team football a tough nut to crack.

Foden is one of just four members of that U17s squad seeing anything near regular first team football
(Image: Reuters)

Of the squad that thumped Spain 5-2 in that 2017 final, only Foden, Jadon Sancho at Borussia Dortmund, Wolves’ Morgan Gibbs-White and Callum Hudson-Odoi of Chelsea have made major breakthroughs.

The majority of the others are still waiting for an opportunity.

And the longer they wait, the more danger there is of stagnation.

That England squad is rightly seen as being the future of the game in this country – along with the U19 and U20 squads, who were European and World champions in 2017, too. But, between them, those U17 players from two years ago made just 120 league appearances last season.

Narrow that down to Premier League run-outs and the number drops dramatically to just 49 – with only Foden, Hudson-Odoi and Gibbs-White appearing in the English top flight during 2018-19.

Others, such as Sancho, Monaco’s Jonathan Panzo and Emile Smith-Rowe, who spent the latter part of last season on loan from Arsenal to Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, have gone overseas to find playing opportunities.

He had to leave Man City do do it, but Sancho has pushed on to become a senior England international
(Image: Action Images via Reuters)

Of that squad of 21 players, 13 made NO senior league appearances last season. That includes the captain of the team, Manchester City’s Joel Latibeaudiere, whose sole run-out was a 21-minute substitute appearance for their U21 side in a Checkatrade Trophy tie against Shrewsbury.

Another prodigy to emerge at that U17s World Cup was Liverpool’s Rhian Brewster , the Golden Boot winner at the tournament thanks to successive hat-tricks against the USA and Brazil in the quarter-final and semi.

He has been doing little more than kicking his heels at Anfield ever since and is still waiting for a first-team debut on Merseyside. And with Mohamed Salah , Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane all in front of him, he may have to bide his time for a good while longer.

The same can be said of England’s keeper in that tournament, Curtis Anderson, who is unlikely to leapfrog Ederson in between the Man City posts anytime soon.

Don’t be fooled by the fact Brewster was spotted in full kit after Liverpool’s European Cup Final win
(Image: EPA-EFE/REX)

Elsewhere, the precocious Angel Gomes can potentially expect more game time next season at rebuilding Manchester United, and the transfer ban at Chelsea might work in the favour of Marc Guehi, George McEachran and Conor Gallacher. But don’t bank on it.

So, while Foden and Sancho continue to shine, others in that record-breaking team are in danger of losing their sheen.