Kalvin Phillips admitted he was suffering from a lack of match sharpness and was lucky not be sent off during England’s sensational 3-1 win over Italy on Tuesday.
Gareth Southgate kept faith in the Manchester City star, who has continued to struggle for consistent minutes under Pep Guardiola this season, and was rewarded as the midfielder and Declan Rice kept Italy’s playmakers quiet for the majority of the match.
After falling behind to Gianluca Scamacca’s strike in the 16th minute, Harry Kane equalised from the penalty spot to level terms on the hour mark.
England went from strength to strength in the second half, thanks largely to Jude Bellingham‘s masterful performance ahead of Rice and Phillips, and struck twice through Marcus Rashford and Kane to book their place in Euro 2024 next summer.
Phillips picked up a clumsy yellow card in the ninth minute and had to tread carefully in defensive midfield until Southgate substituted him for Jordan Henderson midway through the second half.
Kalvin Phillips (left) admitted he was suffering from a lack of match sharpness against Italy
Gareth Southgate has continued to pick the midfielder despite his lack of minutes at Man City
Phillips’ defensive effort in midfield helped No 10 Jude Bellingham (above) put in a superb performance, as the Three Lions beat Italy 3-1 at Wembley and booked their place at Euro 2024
The former Leeds midfielder, who has only started once for Manchester City in all competitions this season, admitted the poor challenge was down to a lack of match sharpness.
Phillips also conceded he was lucky to remain on the pitch after not being shown second booking for a late tackle at the end of the first half.
‘I knew it was going to be a yellow card,’ the midfielder admitted. ‘I stuck my leg out and was quite fortunate in the end not to get sent off. Is what it is. It’s football and the type of player I am.
‘As a footballer you always want to be playing and I haven’t done that over last year and half. One thing I want to do is to come in for England and start. I was fine against Scotland and try to make sure I am ready for whatever comes.
‘Gareth played me today and I’m just happy to put the white shirt on again. That’s one thing I want is minutes and I want to go to the Euros.’
The out-of-favour Manchester City star added that he was rather lucky to remain on the pitch
Man City boss Pep Guardiola chose not to play Phillips against Arsenal despite Rodri’s injury
Phillips (right) urged that his No 1 priority is making it on the plane to Germany for Euro 2024
Despite Manchester City suffering from a dearth of midfielders ahead of the international break, with Rodri suspended and Kevin De Bruyne injured, Guardiola opted to deploy Bernardo Silva in defensive midfield against title rivals Arsenal, snubbing Phillips as his side fell to a 1-0 defeat.
Although Southgate has continued to select players who are struggling for minutes, such as Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire, Phillips’ chances of making the Euro 2024 squad would drastically improve with more game time on the pitch.
After the match, the Three Lions boss said: ‘Ideally we would have everyone playing regularly, you can see Kalvin and Maguire bring questions about playing at club level, but they were outstanding tonight and are so important for us.
‘Of course, we would like them playing more but they are up against really good players at their clubs. Kalvin is up against (Mateo) Kovacic and Rodri, so it’s understandable he’s not playing as much. But he always does a fantastic job for us.’
