What on earth have the BBC pundits been watching? Rio Ferdinand and Micah Richards stun England fans with bizarre Phil Foden comments

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Rio Ferdinand and Micah Richards appeared to have a hugely different impression on England’s performance against Switzerland

Phil Foden of England reacts during the UEFA EURO 2024 group stage match between Serbia and England at Arena AufSchalke on June 16, 2024 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
Phil Foden of England had an anonymous first-half against Switzerland (Image credit: Matt McNulty - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

England went into the second-half against Switzerland without making a shot on target, but BBC pundits Rio Ferdinand and Micah Richards had a largely positive take on the game.

In the quarter-finals of Euro 2024, the Three Lions opted to switch up the formation - with Gareth Southgate positioning a three-man defence in front of Jordan Pickford, rather than the 4-2-3-1 the head coach had been using previously.  

This has allowed Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham to join together as No.10s, in behind Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane up front. But while there have been moments for England, it was another unspectacular display from the side once again.

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Foden, though has played fine, has not offered much service for England’s other attackers. The Manchester City star accrued 0.02xG, made no chances created, made no shots, had a single touch in the box, while he made no accurate crosses from two attempts and didn’t win or attempt any tackles.

But despite this, Ferdinand and Richards were full of praise for the Premier League Player of the Season. 

Rio Ferdinand, presenter for TNT Sports during the UEFA Champions League 2023/24 round of 16 second leg match between Manchester City and F.C. Copenhagen at Etihad Stadium on March 6, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)

Rio Ferdinand claimed Phil Foden had been the difference (Image credit: Getty Images)

At half-time during the BBC’s coverage Ferdinand said: “Micah, Foden in the No.10 - we’ve all been asking for it. That’s been the difference.” Richards agreed with the assessment, with both being of the belief that Foden has changed England’s game around following their tepid displays against the likes of Denmark. Slovenia, and Slovakia, where they failed to win the game in 90 minutes.

Former Liverpool defender and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher took X, formerly known as Twitter, to highlight the contrasting views between supporters and those on pundit duty. “On the BBC England are 2-0 up, on Twitter England are 0-1 down!,” he wrote. 

Should England manage to beat Switzerland at the Dusseldorf Arena they will face the winner of the Netherlands and Turkey in the semi-finals. 

More Euro 2024 stories

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Jacque Talbot
Jacque Talbot

Jacque Talbot is a freelance football journalist who predominantly specialises in transfer stories and exclusives. He began his career in 2016 covering the world-renowned Sandbach United, of North West Counties fame, before earning a spot on the sports desks of national papers, where he bounced between several outlets such as Sportbible, the Express, Mirror, and Daily Star. An NCTJ graduate of the News Associates who swapped investigative journalism in the Costa del Sol for football reporting in Northern England, he first wrote for FourFourTwo in December 2023.