A dominant 3-0 triumph over Urawa Red Diamonds in Tuesday’s Club World Cup semi-final in Jeddah sealed City’s place in the showpiece final where we will now take on the Brazilian Copa Libertadores winners.
It’s a mouthwatering prospect – not least for the fact that a win would see Pep Guardiola’s side become the first English team to win the five major trophies of Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup in a single calendar year.
And for Foden, who produced a typically dynamic and effervescent display in the win over Urawa, success in Saudi Arabia could also have positive spin-off effects looking forward to the rest of the domestic campaign and beyond.
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“If we can win on Friday it is going to give us massive confidence and a push that we need so hopefully we can win the final for the Club for the first time,” Foden declared.
“It’s our first time here as a club and hopefully we can win in the final as it’s so important for the Club.
“It’s hard to come here and adapt to the heat in a short time.
“But it was good to get back to winning ways and the game on Tuesday reminded me previously of how we used to play. The control was there.
“I think we need to do a longer build up, keep the ball and take our chances to attack.
“I thought we did that in the second half on Tuesday when they got tired, and the spaces opened up.
“We just want to keep going now.”
The manner of the victory over Urawa also served as the perfect response to last Saturday’s frustrating 2-2 Premier League draw at home to Crystal Palace.
It was the third successive league stalemate at the Etihad with the Treble winners currently in fourth place in the Premier League table.
It also served as another illustration of the fiercely competitive nature of the league with City chasing what would be a historic fourth consecutive league title.
But though the challenge is tougher than ever, Foden says the hunger, desire and motivation amongst the squad burns as brightly as ever.
“Sometimes you have to roll your socks up and go again. It has been tough recently as we have been playing well but not getting the results, we deserved so it’s about rolling our socks up,” the England international added.
“Every year is going to be more challenging. You can tell that by the way opposition teams set up. You see Crystal Palace and how deep they were.
“I won’t criticise how they play as they did a good job of it, and it was hard to break down.
“Football teams want to beat us a lot more this year and we have to be ready for that, but I don’t think we have changed one bit.
“The motivation is still there in the way we work every day.”
The more immediate challenge of course lies in Friday’s meeting with Fluminense who booked their place in the final with that 2-0 win over Egyptian giants Al-Ahly.
And for Foden the final at the spectacular King Abdullah Sport City Stadium is a prospect to savour.
“I have not lot watched a lot of them, but we saw the semi-final (against Al-Ahly) and they have some dynamic players who can hurt us,” Foden added.
“They are a really interesting team and we are looking forward to playing them.”
Every match at the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup is available to watch in the UK on TNT Sports and FIFA+. For fans outside of the UK, click here to find out how you can watch the matches in Saudi Arabia.
The official Man City app will also have free live radio commentary as part of our usual Matchday Live show that includes studio guests previewing and analysing the action.
