Phil Foden

Grassroots club: Reddish Vulcans
County FA: Cheshire 

A creative spark in any England team that he's been a part of, Phil Foden's first senior call up came in August 2020 when he was picked for the UEFA Nations League games with Iceland and Denmark.

The Manchester City youngster had been among the pick of the MU21s' performers during the previous campaign and after a strong end to the 2019-20 season with Pep Guardiola's team, Gareth Southgate decided it was the perfect time to bring him into the senior set up.

And it's a level which Foden has seemed destined for, given his rise to prominence with both his club and the various age group teams with the Young Lions.

In particular, he was a key player in 2017 as England lifted the FIFA U17 World Cup in India where his displays propelled him to international attention. His man-of-the-match performance and stunning goal in the 5-2 win over Spain in the Final capped off a fine tournament which also saw him land the 'Golden Ball' title.

Born and raised in Stockport, just south of Manchester, Foden grew up supporting City and was spotted playing local football before joining their academy when he was just eight.

The diminutive Foden rose through the ranks and continued to impress at every level, often shining against older and physically-stronger boys whether playing as a winger, wing-back or through the middle and it was in the summer of 2017 that he started to catch the eye of Guardiola while invited on a pre-season tour of the USA and impressing in friendly games with Manchester United and Real Madrid.

That rise continued back on home soil as he spent more and more time training with Guardiola's squad while getting time on the pitch, often from the bench. A Premier League debut wasn't far behind and he became the youngest English player to start a Champions League game in December 2017, when he played against Shakhtar Donetsk at the age of 17 years and 192 days old.

Equally capable of dribbling and committing players, or splitting a defence with a slide-rule pass, Foden's importance to Manchester City has grown with every season and during the 2020/21 season he made 50 appearances in all competitions for Guardiola's men, scoring 16 goals and adding 12 assists.

Foden had already won three Premier League titles, an Emirates FA Cup and four Carabao Cups before he even turned 21 in May 2021 and the 2020/21 campaign was also when he made a real mark with the England senior team.

In his third cap, Foden scored twice against Iceland in November 2020 and his form for club and country saw him start the opening two EURO 2020 matches and also come on as a substitute in the semi-final victory over Denmark.