Adam Lallana waxes lyrical of Kalvin Phillips at EUROs
Brighton midfielder Adam Lallana has hailed Leeds United ace Kalvin Phillips’ performances at Euro 2020.
He’s also heaped huge praise on Phillips’ midfield partner Declan Rice, who’s started alongside him in all three of England’s games at the competition.
The West Ham midfielder has played a more stationary position in the middle of the park, giving Phillips the licence to roam forward and play as a creative attacking midfielder.
In his column in The Times, Lallana praised the English midfield duo. He wrote, “With two defensive-minded No 6s in Rice and Phillips the team are compact centrally.
“Their first instincts are to protect. That is a vital mindset and is backed by peripheral vision, awareness and the athleticism to react. Being adventurous is not discouraged, but it must be calculated against the responsibility to shield if possession is lost.
“England have benefited from this. These qualities should come to the fore even more now against Germany in the round of 16, with Rice’s ability to break up possession and the robustness of Phillips crucial.”
Spot on
We’ve watched Phillips play every minute of every game for Gareth Southgate’s side in this tournament and have absolutely enjoyed his different roles.
The freer role he played against Croatia is reminiscent to his pre-Marcelo Bielsa Leeds days when he was deployed as a box-to-box midfielder.
He’s been one of the most consistent players for the Three Lions and that’s what makes claims of him to be dropped all the more baffling.
Speaking on talkSPORT [14/06/21], ex-England international Pearce labelled him ‘outstanding.’
Should Southgate move to a back three to deploy a 3-4-3, Rice and Phillips would be an ideal midfield pairing. Rice could also move to centre-back and someone like Jude Bellingham or Jordan Henderson could start along with the Leeds midfielder.
We’re delighted that Phillips has had such a good EUROs so far and are hoping that he carries on against Germany and puts in another midfield clinic against the 2014 World Champions.
In other Leeds United news, TalkSPORT host shares ridiculous Kalvin Phillips verdict for England v Germany