Pep Guardiola has praised Manchester City forward Phil Foden for being open about the mental health issues which troubled him last season.

Foden has been one of City’s stand-out players in the early part of this season’s campaign with two goals and two assists in seven appearances, although that was not enough to earn him a recall to Thomas Tuchel’s England squad on Friday.

As City prepare to return to one of his favourite hunting grounds — away to Brentford on Sunday — Foden’s spark is certainly back after a 2024-25 campaign in which he registered 13 goals and seven assists in 49 appearances, compared with 27 goals and 13 assists in 53 the season before.

In May, Foden said he had had “a lot of things going on off the pitch mentally” and added: “Sometimes there’s things in life bigger than football.”

Discussing his resurgence this week, Guardiola said: “How strong he is admitting it. A figure like Phil can be open-minded and speak to all of society. Today the young teenagers and even older people struggle with that, nobody is away from that, everyone can be that.

“To accept the reality, wow. That’s why when I see him now, and forget about the level he is performing, which is a top level, how he’s been, the joy in the training session, his laugh and his voice in the locker room, being back, it’s enough. It’s just what we want.

“The rest, we’ll help him to play as well as possible, with that quality, he’s been there. But be healthy. It’s a sport, win, lose, draw. What’s important is him as a human being, be healthy with the family, with himself, and do what you want to do.

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“That is what we wanted and I’m happy step by step he’s getting better. You see the games and he’s involved in many, many things.”

There is an even greater spotlight on Foden this season following the departure of Kevin De Bruyne in the summer. The 25-year-old’s relationship with Erling Haaland can be key for City, something which has already been on show this season.

City fans will hope to see that partnership continue for many years to come, even as reports continue to come from Spain that Barcelona president Joan Laporta has become “obsessed” by the idea of signing Haaland next summer, seemingly undeterred by the nine-and-a-half year deal he signed in January.

“Can you tell me one club that wouldn’t dream of Erling Haaland?” Guardiola said when asked about the links. “I understand Barcelona dream of Erling, and all the clubs in the world. If Erling would not be with us it would be a dream for Man City to have Erling.

“What is going to happen, honestly, I don’t know. I know he has a long contract here and I think he’s doing really well and scoring a lot of goals. I had the feeling the team helps him a lot and gives him a lot of actions where he is able to score a goal.

“I think Erling isn’t stupid enough to sign something he doesn’t want to accomplish, that is for sure. But football, who knows what is going to happen in the next time. Nobody knows.”

COLOMBO: Pakistan women’s cricket captain Fatima Sana has said that her team is solely ‘focused’ on the “game”.

Her remarks came ahead of the high-octane ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 match against arch-rivals India, scheduled to be played at the R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.

The highly anticipated clash between fierce rivals is likely to mirror the tensions witnessed during the recent Asia Cup, where India’s men’s team faced backlash for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Earlier this week, Indian media hinted at the possibility of another handshake snub, heightened drama, and political undertones.

During Pakistan captain Fatima’s pre-match press conference, the ICC Media Manager refrained the reporters from asking political questions and also about the handshake controversy.

However, Fatima was still asked to share whether she would miss the spirit and camaraderie between the two teams, referencing their off-field interactions after their match at the 2022 edition of the mega event, when the Indian players surrounded then Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof and cooed over her six-month-old daughter.

Fatima, who was a part of the national team then, in response, reiterated Pakistan’s stance of fulfilling the spirit but stressed that their primary objective is to ‘stay focused’ on the game.

“Our main goal is to play well. Our relationship with the other teams is good. We will try to fulfil the spirit of the game,” said Fatima.

“What happened before, like with Bismah’s daughter, when everyone mingled and enjoyed together, as players, we all like such moments. But the main thing is to stay focused on what we have come here for,” she added.

The Pakistan captain also dismissed the notion of odds being against them as they trail India by 11-0 in their head-to-head record in the Women’s ODIs and instead stressed that her team has the potential to beat any top side, stating that the records are meant to be broken.

“Firstly, whatever records exist between India and Pakistan, they are meant to be broken. It’s not that Pakistan will never win against them,” Fatima stated.

“We believe in playing good cricket, regardless of who our opponent is. So we won’t dwell on history; we’ll focus only on the day we play. I personally believe that Pakistan has the potential to defeat any top team by playing well in any match. So, you can’t judge yourself with just one match. Everyone’s morale is high.”

Fatima Sana then went on to underline the importance of pressure handling in big games like Pakistan-India and reiterated that they are focused on the upcoming fixture.

“Of course, it’s a match with a lot of pressure. We know that the whole world is watching the India-Pakistan matches. But handling that pressure is the main thing. We will focus on that, play our game, and execute our plans,” Fatima continued.

“Coaches have told us to believe. You can’t define an entire tournament based on one match. We believe we can still win games.”