Kevin De Bruyne now considers Phil Foden simply "one of the guys" at Manchester City and hopes the 21-year-old can play a decisive role against Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Foden was long seen as the most promising young prospect at City but had to wait for his opportunity to feature regularly in Pep Guardiola's first team.
Although the midfielder made his senior debut in the 2017-18 season, he was kept on the fringes for his first two years.
Even in 2019-20, when making 38 appearances, scoring eight goals and assisting nine, Foden was restricted to just 18 starts.
Since then, though, the England international has gone from strength to strength, following up 26 goal involvements last term (16 goals, 10 assists) with another 24 this time out (13 goals, 11 assists).
Foden netted against Madrid at the Etihad Stadium in a 4-3 first-leg win in City's Champions League semi-final, and De Bruyne believes his team-mate can make another important contribution in the return leg.
"He's been amazing," De Bruyne said. "I've seen him from a little boy who had massive potential.
"Whenever you come up to a first team, you are a little bit shy, and it takes time and more playing time to get comfortable in that situation.
"But the last two years he has been in a very comfortable situation, and you see the difference in the way that he plays. He's not a young talent any more, he's one of the guys.
"It's a big step to make, but now everybody looks at him to make a difference because he can. He's proven that lots of times, and he probably will do much, much more for this club in the future.
"I'm hoping he does the same that he's been doing. If you're playing constantly very well, that is all you can do. He doesn't play with ups and downs, he just does what he needs to do for the team."
De Bruyne has had to rediscover that consistency himself after enduring a tough start to the season following an ankle injury that he initially tried to play through.
The Belgium midfielder did not look his usual self as he scored only three goals and provided a single assist in his first 17 club matches of the campaign.
However, since then, De Bruyne has 12 goals and 11 assists in 23 outings, including the opening goal in the first leg against Madrid.
"The first months [of the season] were really hard," he added. "I've never experienced the pain I had.
"I was trying to come back, but it wasn't something I enjoyed. Mentally, it was hard to overcome.
"Once the pain was gone, I started to feel more confident in myself, in my body, to get back to where I belong. Now, playing all these games, I feel back to the level I was before.
"I try to be as consistent as I can, and this year I've done that."
Alisson set to miss at least seven Liverpool games with hamstring injury
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson is expected to be out for at least seven games after sustaining a hamstring injury against Crystal Palace.
The Brazilian went off in the 79th minute of Liverpool's 1-0 victory at Selhurst Park on Saturday and, according to widespread reports, is likely to be sidelined until at least the November international break.
Alisson was replaced by Premier League debutant Vitezslav Jaros against Palace as Caoimhin Kelleher missed that game through illness.
Kelleher deputised earlier in the season when Alisson was sidelined by a different hamstring injury, and is set to do so again, having recovered to join up with the Republic of Ireland national team.
Alisson also immediately pulled out of Brazil's squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers before having his scans.
"Alisson is our clear No. 1, the best goalkeeper in the world, so it's a blow when he gets injured for himself and the team," Slot said after the match on Saturday.
"We have a second option that's already good. Caoimhin has already shown that, which is why Caoimhin is the No. 2, and the last time Alisson was injured, I played Caoimhin."
The Reds have made a flying start to the season, winning nine of their 10 matches in all competitions.
However, they will likely have to navigate Premier League matches against Chelsea, Arsenal, Brighton, who they also face in the EFL Cup, and Aston Villa without their usual number one, as well as Champions League meetings with RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen.
The Numbers Game: Carsley aims to stake claim for permanent England job
England have made a bright start to life without Gareth Southgate, putting in impressive displays to win both of their Nations League openers against Republic of Ireland and Finland in September.
With a permanent replacement still yet to be announced for the national team, Lee Carsley will again be in the dugout this week aiming to maintain his 100% record.
With the aim to gain promotion back to League A, Carsley is set to come up against his toughest test yet given that England are not in the driving seat in their current group.
Greece sit above them in the table, with a superior goal difference and are on a three-match winning streak in all competitions.
But having disappointed in their previous Nations League campaign, England will be determined to put things right and avoid a slip-up in front of the home fans.
Using Opta data, we delve into the key talking points ahead of Thursday's clash at Wembley.
What's expected?
The Three Lions put on an attacking show against Ireland and Finland, having a collective total of 38 shots and accumulating 4.3 expected goals (xG) across both matches.
So it is perhaps no surprise that England are favourites going into this one, with the Opta supercomputer giving them a 75.1% chance of victory.
Greece, on the other hand, are only given a 10.2% chance of causing an upset, while the likelihood of getting a draw sits at 14.6%.
History is certainly on England's side as they have never lost any of their nine meetings with Greece in all competitions (W7 D2), keeping a clean sheet in seven of those matches.
Greece have, however, drawn their last two competitive away matches against England, most recently 2-2 in a World Cup qualifier in October 2001. They led that match twice before David Beckham's famous 90th-minute free-kick sent the Three Lions to the 2002 World Cup.
Staking his claim
Carsley isn't keen to answer questions about his long-term future with England, but he is certainly doing his chances of getting the full-time job no harm.
In fact, he is aiming to be the first England manager to win his first three competitive matches in charge since Fabio Capello in October 2008. If the team can keep another clean sheet, he will be the first ever to do so without conceding.
The interim manager also has some familiar faces available again after illness and injury prevented Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Jude Bellingham from linking up with the squad last time around.
Palmer has started the Premier League season in scintillating form, with six goals to his name already.
Since his Chelsea debut last September, he has been involved in more goals in the competition than any other player (44 – 28 goals, 16 assists), and he is surely pushing for just his third England start.
Carsley could go with Bellingham for this game though, which would move him outright second for the most England appearances before turning 22 (currently 36, level with Marcus Rashford), after Wayne Rooney (40).
While England's attack is often the main focus, Carsley's defensive record is nothing to be dismissed. At the 2023 U21 Euros, his side did not concede a single goal, and he has carried that record into the senior team, albeit only facing eight shots across the first two matches.
Kyle Walker provides a welcome boost at the back as he returns to the squad and, if he is given the nod at right-back in this game, he will have made the joint-fifth most appearances for England at Wembley (currently 37).
He would have to unseat Trent Alexander-Arnold for that to happen, with the Liverpool right-back having created five chances against Finland. That is the third time he has created five or more chances in an England game since the start of 2019, with no other player doing so on more than one occasion.
Top of the pile
England may have won 16 of their last 21 competitive outings on home soil (D2 L3), including each of the last five, but Greece will certainly be no pushovers.
After three seasons in League C, they managed to gain promotion and have taken to their new league with consecutive wins to top the table.
Since the inaugural Nations League in 2018-19, no team has won more games in the competition than Greece (W13 D3 L4).
They also boast the best defensive record in the tournament's history, conceding the fewest goals (eight) and keeping the most clean sheets (14).
Greece are, however, winless in their last 12 matches against nations in the top five of the FIFA rankings (D6 L6) - a run that stretches back to a 1-0 win over France en route to their Euro 2004 title.
Having drawn 2-2 against France in November 2023 - their most recent fixture against any team currently in the top five - there is a small body of evidence of their ability to compete against the best.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
England – Harry Kane
England captain Harry Kane has scored 26 goals in 26 competitive home appearances for the Three Lions, scoring in each of his last six such outings (nine goals).
Only Steve Bloomer (1895-1899) and Wayne Rooney (2012-2015) have ever scored in seven straight competitive home games for the nation. Having scored twice against Finland last time out in the Nations League, he will be keen to keep his run going.
Greece – Fotis Ioannidis
Only Slovenia's Benjamin Sesko (four) scored more goals than Fotis Ioannidis (three) across the opening two matchdays of the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League.
He has also scored five goals in his last six international appearances. But Ioannidis is a major doubt for this fixture, having hobbled off just before half-time for Panathinaikos against Olympiacos on Sunday.
Jack Grealish believes he should have been in England's Euro 2024 squad
Jack Grealish thinks that he should have been part of England's Euro 2024 squad.
Grealish was initially called up for the Three Lions' 33-man training squad, but was one of seven players who did not make the final squad for Germany.
England reached the final, losing 2-1 to Spain.
The 29-year-old has been back in the fold under interim manager Lee Carsley, and impressed in September's Nations League matches against the Republic of Ireland and Finland.
"I will be honest with you, I didn’t really agree with it," Grealish told BBC Radio 5 Live of Gareth Southgate's decision not to include him among the final 26 players.
"You need a bit of a balance in every position on the pitch and I class myself [as] quite an experienced player now.
"I have won a lot of stuff now so, you asked me should I have gone, yes, I still think I should have, but obviously it wasn't meant to be."
Grealish started just 10 league matches for Manchester City in the 2023-24 season, scoring three goals and providing one assist.
While he admitted that he "didn’t have the best season" domestically, he was left "devastated" by his omission and said that missing out on Euro 2024 was "probably the most difficult period of my life".
Grealish scored in England's 2-0 victory over Ireland in Dublin last month, and will be hoping for more of the same against Greece and Finland in the coming week.
Asked if he felt he had a point to prove, Grealish made it clear that he wanted to show people what England were missing at Euro 2024.
"Of course, I wanted to come here and train well and play well," he said.
"I thank Lee Carsley for giving me that chance and having that trust in me.
"It obviously really meant a lot. I think throughout my career when I have played under managers who have shown trust in me and communicated with me the way he has the last two camps, it really helps me.
"It makes me feel that the manager really does rate me and I can't speak highly enough of him since I have been here."
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