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Kalvin Phillips Has Dropped A Midfield Masterclass For England In Dominant Victory Over Croatia

Kalvin Phillips Has Dropped A Midfield Masterclass For England In Dominant Victory Over Croatia

'The Yorkshire Pirlo' is trending for a reason.

Daniel Marland

Daniel Marland

Kalvin Phillips dropped a midfield masterclass on Sunday afternoon to help England defeat Croatia 1-0.

Gareth Southgate picked a controversial XI for England's first game of Euro 2020 and it included Phillips alongside Declan Rice.

Many viewed that decision to be 'too defensive' with Jack Grealish forced to drop down to the bench.

However, Leeds United star Phillips lived up to his 'Yorkshire Pirlo' moniker with an outrageous performance at Wembley.

The first half saw Phillips successfully complete all 18 of his passes, the only outfield player on the pitch to do so.

But it was in the second half he truly arrived in the game, dancing through Croatia's defence before sliding a ball through to Raheem Sterling.

Drifting between two defenders, Sterling fired home to score his first goal at a major finals.

While Sterling's goal secured the victory, it was Phillips' dominant performance in the middle of the part that had fans talking.






Phillips helped Leeds to ninth in the Premier League this season in their first campaign back since 2004.

Elsewhere, Jude Bellingham became the youngest player to ever play in a European Championship.

Aged 17 years, 349 days old - Bellingham replaced captain Harry Kane in the closing stages.

Victory for England takes them top of Group D for at least a day.

Image
PA

The other Group D clash between Scotland and Czech Republic will take place on Monday at 2pm.

Do you think England will win Euro 2020?

Let us know in the comments.

Featured Image Credit: PA Images & BBC

Topics: Kalvin Phillips, Football, Euro 2020, Croatia, England, Raheem Sterling