Manchester City star Phil Foden was not taken with England to the World Cup and has not really been missed

Thomas Tuchel knew what he was doing when he took the big calls of leaving both Phil Foden and Cole Palmer out of his England squad for the World Cup. The coach is experienced enough to know that such decisions would be thrown back in his face the second his plans did not work out.

Aside from some stickiness around the Ghana and Panama matches though, there has been very little mention of either the Manchester City or Chelsea playmakers. England have forgotten about them as Jude Bellingham has risen to the fore to help lead the Three Lions into the last four of the World Cup.

This could of course be more disappointment on top of not being picked to go. Everybody wants to feel like they’re missed when they are not there, and Premier League footballers are constantly rated and compared with each other as part of the sport.

In the case of Foden though, having a summer where he is forgotten could well be perfect for him. The 26-year-old has already had nearly a decade of his life where expectation and hype have followed him everywhere he has gone, and living up to that is gruelling and virtually impossible.

City thought they had got the player back to his best last season as he dazzled in the first half of the campaign. However, when his form disappeared around January there was nothing that anyone was able to do to reverse that and it cost him a place in the City team and his England spot for the World Cup.

Even if he had been included by Tuchel, Foden would barely have played given his current form. After months of that experience at the Etihad without seeing enough improvement, a new environment and a full break from football looks the better option.

A rare summer off has been used by Foden to watch tennis at Wimbledon, F1 at Silverstone, and get plenty of fishing in – as well as a holiday with his family. Turning up at his local to watch England has been the closest he has come to the World Cup experience.

It remains unclear whether that can spark Foden back into form, but space and time away from the spotlight is something that he has barely known for the last decade. Being kept out of the conversations around England this summer can only have helped the playmaker to keep his mind clear.

The midfield man has of course kept his fitness up and will be one of the first through the doors of the City Football Academy next week to start training with Enzo Maresca. The world may then be talking about an historic win for England in the final, but Foden knows exactly the challenge he has to pass in this season.

Away from the attention, from next week Foden can start showing what his rest has done for him as he looks to return to being one of City’s most important players.