Inside Phil Foden’s relationship with childhood sweetheart Rebecca Cooke as he flies home for birth of his child
DESPITE the money and fame, family man Phil Foden keeps his feet firmly on the ground.
The 24-year-old shows maturity beyond his years with the ball at his feet and off the pitch.
Foden has again showed devotion to his loved ones by leaving England’s camp to return home for the birth of his kid.
It will be the Manchester City star’s third child with girlfriend Rebecca Cooke.
The loved-up couple met in school and have been inseparable ever since.
Rebecca, 24, keeps a low profile compared to other Wags and has her social media accounts private.
She is often seen in the stands cheering on her boyfriend with fans.
Rebecca gave birth to their first son Ronnie five years ago and he is named after Foden’s late grandfather.
He passed away aged 47 and in tribute to him, the player wears the No47 shirt for City.
Meanwhile, Young Ronnie is now a social media star.
He has an incredible four million followers on his Instagram account managed by his mum and dad.
They post cute snaps of Ronnie wearing England and City shirts with his father’s name on the back.
And there are other pictures of him on holiday with the family alongside sweet captions like “Mummy’s boy”.
Foden has even been wearing personalised shinpads at the Euros with Ronnie’s face on.
Two years after he was born, Phil and Rebecca welcomed their daughter True to the world.
And the whole family are often seen on the pitch when their dad lifts Premier League titles.
With Ronnie hilariously trying to open a bottle of champagne he got hold of during celebrations.
Foden and Rebecca announced they were pregnant for a third time in April and hosted a baby shower for close family and friends.
They lifted their two kids and posed for photos in front of blue balloons and a huge LED sign that read “Baby Foden”.
Phil is also close to his parents and bought them a £3million mansion within walking distance of his £2.85m family home in Cheshire.
And in another kind gesture, he purchased his grandmother Mary her dream home in Manchester.
Foden has a passion for fishing, which he picked up from days out with his dad Phil Snr as a teenager.
He even missed Man City‘s title celebrations in 2018 to go fishing with him.
And he is passing on his love for it to Ronnie.
They posed for an adorable father and son photo alongside a huge carp they caught four months ago.
The plan is for Foden to return to the England squad in time for Sunday’s last-16 clash.
And he hopes to begin father duties with his newborn as a European champion.
England player ratings: Southgate's Gallagher experiment fails miserably vs Slovenia
ENGLAND served up another underwhelming performance – but still managed to top Group C.
England dominated the ball, but Southgate will have plenty of questions to answer after a third straight display that lacked inspiration.
SunSport’s Tom Barclay has given his ratings of the England players.
Jordan Pickford – 6
Largely a spectator due to England’s dominance on the ball. Asked the touchline what the Denmark score was during one break in the second half.
Kieran Trippier – 6
The one positive of having a right-footed player playing left-back is that he can dispatch in-swinging crosses, and one such one should have been headed home by Conor Gallagher before the break.
Marc Guehi – 7
Cruyff turn early doors showed his confidence from excellent displays against Serbia and Denmark, and barring one loose pass was good again.
John Stones – 6
One of many to miss his target with his passing. He wasn’t bad but, like others, way off what he has produced for his club.
Kyle Walker – 5
Played so safe, rarely looked to get forward. Was lucky at one point that Pickford was alive to his blast of a pass-back. Sliced cross after break summed up his off-night.
Conor Gallagher – 4
Got the nod after the Trent Alexander-Arnold midfield experiment ended, but was poor, particularly, in possession and replaced at half-time by Kobbie Mainoo.
Declan Rice – 7
Had promised an “in your face” performance from his team, but he was really the only one to produce it. Very good out of possession, much better than against Denmark.
Phil Foden – 7
Liveliest of England’s attacking four by a mile and went close with a stinging free-kick. Booked for dissent, summing up England’s frustration.
Jude Bellingham – 5
Cut a very frustrated figure as he and Harry Kane got in each other’s way at times, while he was often shunted wide left as Phil Foden moved into the middle.
Bukayo Saka – 6
Tapped home on 20 minutes, but it was ruled out for offside in the build-up. OK but once again subbed after the break, perhaps due to fitness concerns.
Harry Kane – 6
Insists he is 100 per cent fit and maybe he is. What is 100 per cent certain is that he has been nowhere near as effective in this tournament as he usually is for England, albeit he was marginally better here.
Substitutes
Kobbie Mainoo (for Gallagher at half-time) – 7
Made a difference when coming on, making England much more positive in their play. So much more confident with his touch than Gallagher.
Cole Palmer (for Bukayo Saka on 71) – 7
Finally made an appearance at this tournament and one clever ball through for Mainoo showed what he can do.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (for Kieran Trippier on 84) – 6
Came on for the final few minutes at right-back, with Walker going to left-back.
Anthony Gordon (for Phil Foden on 88) – 6
Like Palmer, first minutes at the Euros, but too late to make an impact.