Gareth Southgate says Phil Foden isn't ready for an England call-up.
Raheem Sterling vouched for his young Manchester City teammate after his goal in Tuesday's win over Dinamo Zagreb.
Despite the snub, Southgate believes the talented attacking midfielder is at the right place to develop.
"Every player has a different journey," said Southgate.
"Some go straight into a Premier League team, others have been in the lower divisions and worked their way up, and Tammy Abraham has been at a big club and then had the loan moves.
"There's no perfect path, it doesn't exist. It's different for them all. Phil Foden's training with great players every day. He's still young and developing physically, and sometimes it's not right to put them in too soon.
"You can't put young players in just to put young players in. We've only put them in because we think they're good enough."
