Mesut Ozil lauded Leeds United midfielder, Kalvin Phillips, on Twitter for his England display today and also shared that he wants to see Aston Villa superstar, Jack Grealish, on the pitch ‘soon’.
England recorded a 1-0 win in their Euro 2020 opener on Sunday against Croatia, with Leeds’ midfield rock starting in the middle of the park and Villa’s expert ball-carrier being an unused substitute.
Before a ball was kicked, there was a lot of talk regarding Gareth Southgate’s line-up, with questions asked as to why Grealish didn’t start.
Well, not only did the Villa man not start, but he didn’t even come off the bench, with Leeds’ ‘Yorkshire Pirlo’ producing a Man of the Match display.
This is what former Arsenal man, Ozil, had to say about the performance from Phillips after the Three Lions secured all three points.
It was like watching the Phillips of old and new in that midfield today, with the Leeds man showcasing the aggressive nature, without the ball, that he has constantly produced under Marcelo Bielsa.
But he also turned back time and brought back his old attacking displays of being box-to-box – it was his run and assist that led to Raheem Sterling scoring the only goal of the game.
Well, after possibly thinking he was going to be used as a sub quite a lot during this tournament, Phillips now has to start against Scotland on Friday.
But what will happen to Grealish? And will Southgate offer him minutes on the pitch because he can be a real game-changer?
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