Mark Langdon: Phil Foden out wide is no left-field decision

England meet Brazil at Wembley on Saturday in a glamour friendly which signals the proper countdown to the Euros and the last international break before Gareth Southgate's squad look to justify favouritism in Germany.

Many of the starting positions already seem to be nailed down and barring injury you can expect to see Southgate line-up in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation.

Jordan Pickford will be in goal, protected by Kyle Walker, John Stones, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw. Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham are certainties for two of the three midfield positions and Bukayo Saka, who misses out this weekend through injury, will be on the right, all with the quality to supply record goalscorer Harry Kane with more ammunition.

Phil Foden is also expected to start, but his position will determine the 11th man. If Southgate goes bold it will mean a central slot for Foden, allowing another attack-minded player into the side. Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford are two obvious candidates, although Cole Palmer's form for Chelsea might make that debate even more interesting.

However, should Foden be used on the left it would give extra defensive cover to the midfield. 

Kalvin Phillips has rightly been dropped and surely won't be able to return unless he gets into the West Ham team, meaning Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jordan Henderson, Kobbie Mainoo and Conor Gallagher are potential candidates to help offer insurance for a side blessed with attacking talents in all areas.

The calls for Foden to be used centrally have been growing by the day, but the more sensible option would be to use Foden in a wider position with licence to roam when the opportunity arises.

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England's obvious weakness is at the heart of defence, where Stones does not have a partner of his standard to play alongside. 

Therefore it would be churlish to overly expose Maguire when the team should still be capable of creating many opportunities even with a more steady option alongside Rice.

There are two obvious problems with fielding Foden centrally. The first is that it may leave the team vulnerable to counters and the second is it might limit the contributions of two hugely influential performers in Rice and Bellingham.

Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice will be key to England's Euro 2024 fateCredit: Eddie Keogh - The FA

Bellingham's performances for Real Madrid cannot be ignored even if hardly anyone in this country watches La Liga on a regular basis.

He has scored 20 goals and contributed nine assists in all competitions and Foden playing centrally would inevitably lead to him being shifted further away from Kane to the detriment of the former Birmingham and Borussia Dortmund star.

It would also leave Rice with all of the defensive responsibilities and he has shown at Arsenal this season there is much more to his game than simply blocking opposition attacks.

You could argue Rice has been at his best when Jorginho has been used by Mikel Arteta. It allows Rice more freedom and greater influence and Southgate should be looking for a similar type of facilitator in his side.

Alexander-Arnold would be my first choice, followed by the underrated Gallagher, but whoever it is doesn't need to do anything special given the talent further ahead.

Finally, there is no evidence that Foden is weaker out wide than he is centrally. According to website Transfer Markt the Manchester City man has been selected on the right wing for 19 games by Pep Guardiola this season and made 11 goal contributions - seven goals and four assists.

On the left he has three goals and two assists from six appearances and as the attacking midfielder it's seven goals and four assists in 11 appearances. Foden had one game as the centre forward and three on the right of midfield in a deeper position than the normal one on the wing without contributing a goal or assist. 

In summary Foden is fabulous wherever he plays and it's no left-field selection to suggest he should be kept wide for the good of the England team.

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