Phil Foden shares throwback picture of him and Emile Smith Rowe as kids in England’s youth ranks after the pair were reunited following the Arsenal star’s first call-up to the senior side
- Phil Foden and Emile Smith Rowe played together in England’s youth teams
- The Manchester City star shared a throwback image of the pair together
- Smith Rowe received his first senior call up after several players pulled out
Manchester City star Phil Foden has shared a retro image of him and Emile Smith Rowe, following the Arsenal youngster’s first call-up to the senior side.
Gareth Southgate rewarded Smith Rowe for his excellent start to the season with a promotion to the senior side after both Marcus Rashford and James Ward Prowse withdrew from the original squad with injuries.
In doing so he reunites with Foden who he previously played alongside in England’s youth ranks.
Phil Foden (right) shared this image of him with Emile Smith Rowe when they played together in England’s youth ranks
Foden has been involved in the senior set-up for more than a year, making his international debut in England’s 1-0 victory over Iceland in the Nations League.
Now the 21-year-old has shared a photo, seemingly from around 2015 when the pair would have first played together for the Under-16s, on his social media channels.
On his Facebook account, he posted the picture alongside an up-to-date image of Foden with his arm around Smith Rowe’s shoulders as they walked out onto the training pitch for the latter’s first training session as a senior international.
The photo was a still image from a video posted on England’s official Twitter account, which shows the moment with the pair laughing together.
Smith Rowe received his first senior call-up after a number of players dropped out of the squad
The pair could play alongside each other as soon as Friday, when England face Albania in their first World Cup qualifier of the current international break.
Smith Rowe had originally been called up to the Under 21 squad for the current break, before injuries led to his promotion.
Speaking about hearing the news, he told Sky Sports: ‘It’s definitely a dream come true. I didn’t expect it.
‘Obviously I was planning to go with the U21s and I got a phone call the day before from Gareth, saying I’d been called up to the first team. It was a great moment for me and my family.’
Phil Foden could play alongside Smith Rowe if they both feature against Albania on Friday
He added: ‘I was really nervous during my first training session, to be honest. It’s always hard coming in with new players.
‘Obviously I play against these guys every week, but for England it’s always different. After a while I got used to it but I was definitely nervous. I’m sure throughout the week I’ll get into it and get more comfortable.’
So far this season, Smith Rowe has scored five goals and provided two assists across 13 games in all competitions.
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