Former Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney described Phil Foden's late substitution in Manchester City's EFL Cup final win as a 'charity' appearance. City defeated Arsenal 2-0 at Wembley Stadium thanks to a second-half brace from Nico O’Reilly. Foden entered in the 90th minute amid his recent struggles for playing time.
Manchester City secured the EFL Cup with a 2-0 victory over Arsenal at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, March 22, 2026. The winning goals came from 21-year-old Nico O’Reilly, who scored twice in the second half. As the match wound down, manager Pep Guardiola brought on Phil Foden in the 90th minute, replacing Rayan Cherki, to see out the game with his squad leading comfortably. Foden has faced challenges securing regular minutes lately, starting just four of City's last 13 matches across all competitions. He has not scored in his past 20 appearances since mid-December. Reflecting post-match, Foden acknowledged the fluctuations in form: > Football sometimes is not straightforward. There are ups and downs and sometimes you can’t be the best version of yourself and that’s the way it is. It’s just about how you pick yourself back up. I’m still keeping my head down, trying to train as well as I can every day. Hopefully I come back after the internationals a lot sharper and hopefully I can get more minutes and be back to where I was at the start of the season. On his podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show, Rooney expressed sympathy for the 25-year-old England international: > I felt sad for him [Foden] but not sad because he is coming on in a cup final. There was a game a few days ago when he didn’t even get on the pitch. If that was Max Dowman coming on at the end, you would think good experience. But to see Phil Foden coming on in a cup final, it felt like a charity sub to get him on the pitch. I don’t know what has happened, he is a top player. It feels strange he can’t get anywhere near the team. It feels like something has gone on there. Rooney noted Foden's prior good form but recent absence from the lineup. Despite the brief cameo, Foden can look ahead to City's Premier League title chase against Arsenal and his inclusion in Thomas Tuchel's 35-man England squad for friendlies against Uruguay and Japan at Wembley later in March, with the World Cup looming this summer.
