Phil Foden reveals how Lionel Messi has influenced him
By Sean Walsh
Phil Foden has revealed that he copied a training technique he saw Lionel Messi undertaking in order to improve his own game.
Foden has gained a reputation as one of English football's most technically gifted players and has played a major role in Manchester City's most recent Premier League title wins.
He was touted for greatness at a young age, and speaking to the media ahead of England's World Cup quarter-final with France, Foden opened up on how an experience watching Messi train a two-touch drill up close was crucial to his development.
"I remember back in the academy and City played Barcelona [in the Champions League]. I remember Messi and Dani Alves doing it [two-touch] from a massive distance and didn't drop it once! That's the first time I'd seen anyone do it, and I took it into my own training," he said.
"Over the years as I've practiced it, I've just got better and better at it. It's not easy, not an easy technique to get the pass right, and obviously your touch has got to be on point as well."
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Foden's England could come up against Messi's Argentina in the final of this winter's World Cup.
The Three Lions will face Portugal or Morocco in the semi-finals should they beat France, while La Albiceleste's matchup with Croatia is set in stone following a thrilling Friday of action.