Foden, Henderson and Mount: Three big questions ahead of Wales v England

England supporters had three main concerns after the draw with the USA: where was Phil Foden, why did Jordan Henderson come on and why did Mason Mount stay on?

It was a surprise to see Foden left on the bench when England needed a goal and had struggled to stretch an organised US backline. Foden is a hugely talented player and the likes of Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney are baffled as to why he is not playing.

Neville says Foden is a ‘generational talent’ who is being wasted, and even wondered whether ‘something has happened off the pitch or in training’ which has influenced Gareth Southgate’s thinking.

It is the case, though, that Foden has not always been at his best in an England shirt (two goals in 19 caps). He may play a part tomorrow, possibly as a substitute out wide, although he appears to be behind Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford in the pecking order.

Foden could flourish with England under a more attacking manager but Southgate prefers a workmanlike player such as Mount in a central role. Henderson’s introduction was clearly a safety buffer for Southgate.

In a game England could have lost, it was not the worst move but looked bad in the circumstances – ‘steady Eddie’ Henderson coming on instead of an attacker.

Mount remains that head-scratcher for England fans. He never has a really bad game but currently he doesn’t score too often, create goals or stop them, so his presence is being questioned.

It is a fair point but Mount never lets Southgate down and that will more often than not get him a spot in the manager’s XI, with club and country. Three successive Chelsea bosses have also been big fans.

A rest for Harry?

Harry Kane’s ankle looked heavily strapped against the USA and, after no goals in two matches, and having been run and run and run by Antonio Conte at Tottenham, is it time to give the Three Lions captain the night off?

There is a strong case for making sure – with England all but through, barring a disastrous 4-0 defeat or similar tomorrow – that Kane gets a rest. Rashford or Callum Wilson would fancy their chances against Wales and Kane could benefit from a breather before the knockout stages. But Southgate may be loathe to take that chance. Imagine if England did lose 4-0 and he had left Kane out.

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Big changes unlikely

Southgate is not one for wholesale changes too often and at a World Cup he is unlikely to be too sweeping in his tweaks. He will not want to affect the second-round tie in any way, or at all risk not going through.

If this was a completely dead rubber for England, it could be different but Southgate is not a manager who takes too many chances. Kyle Walker is one who could get a start and Grealish or Rashford, or both, could join Kane in the front three.

All or nothing

Expect Wales and Gareth Bale to put in the effort of their lives. They have got nothing to lose – only all-out attack will give them any hope of qualifying for the last 16 and that presents Southgate with a third different challenge in the group.

It could also open up space for England’s attack to find the form they had against Iran.

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