Phil Foden looked far from his best for England against Uruguay and Japan, and Thomas Tuchel has delivered a bleak assessment of the Manchester City star’s performances despite being “so good in training”.

Fodenstarted both friendlies as Tuchel looked to give the City star every opportunity to stake his claim for a World Cup place, but the 25-year-old was heavily criticised for his uninspiring displays and Tuchel has admitted that he “struggled” to show the quality he showed in training on the pitch.

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Tuchel said: “He tried everything. I would say he was excellent in camp but, yeah, he struggles to show it on the pitch. Obviously he didn’t have a lot of minutes for City recently. Then he came to camp with the brightest smile and was so good in training and I thought he will just surprise us and will play with the same verve and excitement but, yeah, he struggles to have the full impact.”

Asked if he could select a player for the World Cup who is struggling on the field, Tuchel replied “I can, I can! The question will be if we will. It’s not a guarantee that he will come.”

Tuchel says that he has gained important insights despite failing to beat Uruguay and losing to Japan.

He added: “I learn all the time. I learn from every training session and I learn from how the squad is together and I learn from the players’ reaction to the game plan and how they adapt.

“How quick they can learn and how quick they can adapt and how they can put it on the pitch. Everything is a learning.”

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On what the results have done to his belief in England winning the World Cup, Tuchel said: “I’m still believing 100 per cent. Like I said, I knew we will have a tough exam, and sometimes it is better to have a tough exam than another win and we’re not so 100 per cent sure. We will not start doubting now.

“It is difficult also for the players to come to camp, then they hear my voice for the first time, see our principles for the first time, have an offensive session, defensive session, and then go and show in Wembley. Not easy.

“We will put this into perspective, but on the other side, we have built something in September, October and November, and we will rely on that. We opened the doors again, to see players, to give them the chance, to have a full impression and not only from the tribune.

“So to feel the players, have them in training, see what they are capable of, see what they are struggling with, and then learn from there, take the consequences, and build a team for June.”