Foden leaves England Euro camp to attend child's birth

England hope the superstar Manchester City midfielder will be back in time for their last-16 clash in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday.

Foden has started all three of England's group C matches in Germany as Gareth Southgate's side advanced by finishing top of the pool while also attracting plenty of criticism for their underwhelming performances.

The Football Association announced on Wednesday that Foden has left the team's Spa and GolfResort Weimarer Land base to attend to "a pressing family matter".

But the BBC and other outlets have reported Foden left to attend the birth of his third child. In April, Foden and his partner Rebecca Cooke announced on Instagram the news of her pregnancy.

England still don't yet know their opponents in the last-16.

But Foden has been one of England's better players in Germany, starting all three group games and narrowly missing on a couple of scoring chances including a shot off the post in the 1-1 draw with Denmark.

The 24-year-old is coming off a breakout season with City, winning Premier League player of the year after scoring 19 league goals and 27 across all competitions.

But Southgate has struggled to strike the right balance among his wealth of attacking options with the team scoring just twice in three matches so far.

Australian Associated Press