Their time is NOW! Young stars Phil Foden and Mason Greenwood are England's brightest lights

If post-lockdown football taught us anything at all it was that Phil Foden is ready. Ready for Manchester City and ready for England.

Foden's football for Pep Guardiola's team was so impressive once our sport emerged from hibernation in June that he was ultimately given a start in the Champions League victory over Real Madrid.

Had he been given one in the one-legged quarter-final against Lyon in Lisbon that followed, City may have fared a little better.

Along with Mason Greenwood of Manchester United, Foden represents the English game's brightest light ahead of a new season that, all being well, will culminate with the European Championships next summer.

Had the Euros been held as planned this year they would have probably come too early for both players. But both have shot from the pack of hopefuls in recent weeks and it will be a huge surprise — and a disappointment — if they are not named on Tuesday in the squad for games against Iceland and Denmark next month.

Southgate's four years in charge have been characterised by a willingness to trust young players and an enthusiasm for bright, purposeful football. Foden and Greenwood fit the bill for both.

Foden's progress has been steady. We have known all about him for three years or more but have had to wait for his body to catch up with his sharp football brain and a technique honed by years at the City academy.

Greenwood is a little different. A natural goalscorer and athlete, the 18-year-old already has the look of a once-in-a-generation talent. It will not only be a huge surprise if he is not in the squad for next summer's Euros, it will be a shock if he is not in the team.

Southgate has other talented young players to accommodate. He has already given debuts to players such as Jadon Sancho, James Maddison, Declan Rice, Harry Winks, Mason Mount and James Ward-Prowse. Aston Villa's Jack Grealish — a little older at 24 — will follow before long.

As this group have developed since England's run to the last four of the World Cup in Russia, the likes of Jesse Lingard and Dele Alli have fallen away. At international level, things evolve quickly and doors can close as quickly as they can open.

Standards of behaviour will continue to be important under Southgate going forward. With those standards in mind, the United defender and captain Harry Maguire should not be in this squad.

'My players should know that I am watching,' said Southgate with a deliberate overtone of menace at one memorable press briefing almost a year ago.

If indeed that is true, then a timely message will on Tuesday be sent to each member of his group by the exclusion of one of the few players almost guaranteed a starting spot next summer.

To all intents and purposes, the race for a place in the team for the Euros starts now. Southgate has only one problem position and that is who he trusts as his No 1 goalkeeper.

Everywhere else, the reserves of talent are beginning to run deep. Foden and Greenwood are the latest off the academy conveyor belt. It feels like their time is now.