00:00Cole Palmer and Phil Foden are competing for a single spot on the plane to the World Cup.
00:05That's what Thomas Tuchel seemed to imply when the squad was announced on Friday, anyway.
00:09The England coach separated Bellingham and Rodgers as one battle and Foden and Palmer as another.
00:15Given Jude and Rodgers' track record for England and for Tuchel,
00:18it's fairly safe to assume that it's for the starting World Cup spot.
00:23Foden and Palmer is for a place in the squad at all.
00:25But who should go of the two?
00:27Well, let's compare them.
00:28Starting with club form.
00:31Well, Foden is clearly out of favour at Man City, having only completed 90 minutes once this calendar year.
00:38Palmer's is slightly better, but his relatively routine hat-trick away at Wolves covers some serious cracks in his own
00:44form.
00:45He looks to be carrying in an injury, and you can see why these two are struggling to dominate Tuchel's
00:49thoughts.
00:50What about England track record?
00:52Foden's struggles for England are well documented, even when he's dominated the Premier League.
00:57Four goals and 10 assists in 47 games for a player of his standard isn't good enough, to be brutally
01:03honest.
01:04But Palmer's track record is a little misunderstood.
01:07His goal against Spain, whilst iconic, is one of just two goals he's scored for England.
01:11Unbelievably, he's only played 12 times for the national team, and has played just once under Tuchel.
01:18I'll give this one to Palmer again.
01:19What it will likely come down to is reliability versus star power.
01:24Foden, whilst unspectacular for club and country over the last few years, can cover multiple holes in the squad, is
01:31a harder worker, and a safer option with a better CV.
01:35Palmer still has a point to prove, and it remains to be seen how he will react to the toughest
01:39period of his career so far.
01:41But tournaments need match winners.
01:43Given that it's unlikely either start, the question becomes, who is more likely to score a crucial goal off the
01:50bench?
01:51There is only one answer to that question.
01:54I'd go with Palmer over Foden.
01:56Let's see if Tuchel agrees.
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