Gary Lineker has praised Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips on BBC One (4:16pm, June 13, 2021).
Lineker was impressed by the performance of Phillips during England’s 1-0 win against Croatia at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
The Leeds midfielder was one of the best players on the pitch and provided the assist for Raheem Sterling’s goal in the second half of the Euro 2020 game.
As well as the former Tottenham Hotspur striker, fellow ex-England international striker Alan Shearer was also impressed by the display produced by the 25-year-old.
What’s been said
Lineker said on BBC One (4:16pm, June 13, 2021): “One or two players could have won it (Star of the Match), but Phillips was seriously good. Very competitive.”
Shearer added: “I thought he was man of the match for England today. I thought he was superb from start to finish. He had an energy, he had a maturity, he had everything you want from a midfielder.
“He was up, he was down. The pass for the goal was superb. He was protecting that back four at times. Fantastic.”
Brilliant performance from Kalvin Phillips
Phillips was absolutely superb for Leeds.
The 25-year-old held his own in the middle of the park, connected well with Declan Rice, and drove the team forward.
Phillips is the holding midfielder for Leeds, and while that was part of the job for England, he also had the licence to go forward.
The Leeds star took one shot which was on target, played one key pass, had a pass accuracy of 93.9%, took 44 touches, attempted two dribbles, and made one tackle and one interception.
Phillips has now made himself simply ‘undroppable’ from the England starting lineup.
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