Pep Guardiola opens up about England star Phil Foden

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Bengaluru, October 29: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has hailed the impact of City academy youngster Phil Foden who was the star of the English Under-17 World Cup side, which became victorious by winning their first ever U17 World Cup title in India.

Foden won the golden ball award for being the best player of the tournament as well as the Man-of-the-match of the final where he scored twice and notched a 5-2 victory after conceding twice in the first half against Spain. And Guardiola after their 3-2 victory against West Brom congratulated the player and claimed this is a good sign for the future of Manchester City as well as England.

Earlier Guardiola also insisted that he could have given the youngster a debut in the Carabo Cup tournament after an impressive pre-season however he felt that playing in a World Cup will give him more maturity, which he has already gained and he is now eager for Phil Foden's City return after England heroics.

"Phil has been with us since the beginning of the season and played unbelievably against Manchester United and Real Madrid. He trains with us every single day. He's just 17 but he is a player in our squad.

"He's in the locker room every day with the guys -- it's the best way to learn from the experienced guys that have played at a high level. It's so important for Manchester City that he is playing in a high level.

"He's played a World Cup -- England will be World Champions in that age. When that guy will grow and play in a World Cup in the future, he has lived that situation before and knows what he has to do."

"If he was going to play every weekend he would have stayed but maybe he would have played in the second team that month and it is better to play in the World Cup against Spain, Brazil, all the African teams and see how the situation is there," he added.

"They don't compete realistically in the second team so for all the English players the big experience was important."