England fans leap to Phil Foden's defence after spotting the moment Man City star was IGNORED by Jude Bellingham in opening Euro 2024 win

The England and Man City star endured a frustrating evening against SerbiaFans have jumped to Phil Foden's defence after spotting a moment in the gameLISTEN to It's All Kicking Off! Were England good in their opener or is the criticism fair? 

England fans have sympathised with Phil Foden after spotting a moment where he  was ignored by Jude Bellingham during an attack in Sunday's opening Euro 2024 victory over Serbia.

The Three Lions got their European Championship campaign off to a winning start courtesy of Bellingham's brilliant header, but a nervous second-half display has raised concerns over their ability to go deep into the competition.

Opening games of a new tournament are usually cautious affairs as players gel in a competitive fixture for the first time in months and put weeks of practice into action. England's outing in Gelsenkirchen was no different.

Gareth Southgate is blessed with a plethora of world class talent in his squad but faces the problem of trying to fit such superstars into his system, with Foden one player who was played out of his favoured central role against Serbia.

The Man City star - who was named the Premier League's player of the season - was deployed on the left-wing and struggled to impact the game as much as was expected, but eagle-eyed fans have jumped to his defence after spotting one moment in the game.

England fans spotted a moment when Phil Foden was ignored by his team-mate against Serbia

Foden endured a difficult game against Serbia as he struggled to show an attacking threat

England were searching for a second goal in the 68th minute that would have calmed fears of any Serbia comeback when Foden found himself in acres of space on the edge of the box.

The 24-year-old was isolated as team-mates rushed into the box and desperately called for the ball to cut-back to him as Bellingham dribbled near the corner flag.

Foden continued to call for a pass and was left frustrated as a cross was eventually floated into the box that was easily claimed by the goalkeeper, with supporters left annoyed that he was denied a shooting chance.

27 goals in all competitions for Man City this season has seen Foden become one of the English top-flight's most clinical finishers, with the Stockport-born forward often scoring from cutback chances on the edge of the box or just inside it.

Foden (bottom of screen) screamed for the ball to be played into him by Jude Bellingham (top)

Now fans want to England stars put more focus on playing to Foden's strengths as the Three Lions look to deliver on their pre-tournament status as favourites.

One supporter vented their frustration on X after watching the passage of play, stating: 'This is why I can't get behind the idea that Foden was 'terrible' last night. He made himself available so many times in pockets but the players behind him (Rice and Bellingham) didn't have the quality/ability to find him like Rodri and KDB can do.'

Another similarly added: 'At Man City, Foden gets the ball. That's the difference. He picked up some lovely positions last night when inside, I don't disagree he was poor, but you can't do a lot without the ball.'

Meanwhile, one comment praised Bellingham's man-of-the-match performance but was critical of England's decision-making, adding: 'Jude was our best player by a mile but I'd love a little more vision from him, especially in moments like this where he's dragged out wide and there's space to exploit in the middle In general, I need better decision making from the whole squad.'