Foden was injured that’s why. Bellingham had also just turned 18Belgium are similar to us, Brazil likewise. The claim made was that there was 4 teams miles beyond us. We also have great players, like Kane, Foden, etc, that are equally capable of winning games on their own like KDB as you cited. France is the only team you could argue is miles ahead of us squad wise, but they have 101 problems within their squad.
The fact we aren’t performing on that level is down to Southgate, not the players we have available (or lack of quality players more precisely)
He frequently didn’t pick Foden last tournament. Grealish was also in the form of his life and couldn’t get on the pitch, despite having an impact every game. A midfield two of Phillips and Rice was shocking. Bellingham another that didn’t get into the team at all.