Rio Ferdinand gushes over Kalvin Phillips after EUROs win
Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips has been praised by Rio Ferdinand after England’s 2-0 win over Germany.
Phillips continued his record of being England’s only outfielder to play every minute of every game at Euro 2020.
He played in a midfield two alongside Declan Rice and perfectly kept the Germans at bay.
After the game, during his punditry for BBC, Ferdinand said, “In that midfield area, Jordan Henderson is captain of Liverpool, he’s won the Champions League and Premier League, he’s being kept out by players like Rice and Phillips.
“They’re doing a tremendous job of screening the back three and when they get the ball they’re progressive.”
Tremendous indeed
Much like how Phillips is the heart of this Leeds team, he’s performing a similar job for Gareth Southgate and is doing his country proud at an international tournament in front of their home fans.
In games where England are expected to dominate possession, he’s been given the licence to drive forward and almost play like an eight.
It was a role he succeeded in against Croatia when he set up Raheem Sterling’s opening goal.
Against Germany, it was more of a compact and organised display and while the stats won’t say it, he had more of an impact on this game as his positional awareness in the midfield forced Germany to play out from the wings.
In England’s next game, we’re expecting him to be deployed in a more advanced role which is akin to his pre-Marcelo Bielsa days at Elland Road.
He started off as a box-to-box midfielder and was then converted into a deep-lying playmaker.
However, he’s still capable of transitioning between the two roles based on the situation of the game and looks spectacular in either position.
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