Is Kalvin Phillips a contender for England’s player of EURO 2020?

Kalvin Phillips has been one of England’s key players on their way to the final of Euro 2020.

The Leeds man has enjoyed a fantastic tournament and has become one of the shining lights of the Three Lions’ team – this begs the question, should he be a contender for England’s player of the tournament?

Well, the short answer is yes.

Faithfully dubbed ‘The Yorkshire Pirlo’ by Leeds fans, Phillips has become a revelation for his boyhood club under Marcelo Bielsa. Since the Argentine’s appointment in 2018, Phillips has been a key part of Leeds’ promotion from the Championship and played an integral role in the Lilywhites’ first season back in the Premier League.

The Yorkshireman has clocked up over 545 minutes this tournament, only 14 minutes fewer than defensive rock John Stones, and omnipresent goalkeeper Jordan Pickford who accumulated 570 minutes over England’s six Euro 2020 games.

Had Phillips not picked up a yellow card against Germany in the Round of 16, the Leeds man probably would’ve played the full-90 against Ukraine, meaning that he’d have also played every minute of the tournament alongside Pickford. However manager Southgate sensibly withdrew the midfielder from action in Rome as another yellow card would’ve ruled Phillips out of Wednesday’s crucial semi-final against Denmark.

This relates to his transformation under Bielsa, as Phillips’ constant high-pressing and superhuman levels of stamina have proved crucial when games go to extra time like during the clash with Denmark, or when fixtures are played just a handful of days apart.

Due to his high-pressing nature and never-ending levels of stamina, this has seen Phillips push higher up the pitch into the attacking third becoming an extra man to feed a ball for Harry Kane to run onto in-behind or to spray passes out wide for players to dispatch crosses or drive into the penalty area, like Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling and Jack Grealish to name a few.

This is exactly what Phillips did in England’s opener against Croatia which led to Sterling breaking the deadlock in the second half. The midfielder drove into the Croatian half before threading a pinpoint ball to the Manchester City man who slotted it into the back of the net.

Also in the Croatia clash, Phillips had a chance from range early on which almost beat goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, from a position in which he’d previously converted for Leeds in recent years. Although Phillips didn’t score, it’s a handy trait to have if he finds himself in a shooting position with no passing options open.

Alongside this, during the tournament Phillips has formed a solid midfield partnership with Declan Rice, one of many game-changing clockwork-like components for the Three Lions.

While being fluid, England’s midfield has been very solid in defensive situations. Phillips has excelled when his side is on the back foot by taking a calm and moderated approach, only tackling where necessary, rather than recklessly diving into challenges – another key mind frame for being successful in major tournaments.

The Yorkshireman has made several strong tackles, against World Class midfielders like Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, both players regulars in the FIFPro World XI’s and were both kept silent by Phillips.

Whilst Phillips has had a great tournament himself, other members of England’s squad have also impressed during the Three Lions’ road to the Euro 2020 final.

Another worthy contender for England’s player of the tournament is hot-heeled winger Raheem Sterling.

England’s top scorer played a pivotal part during the group stages. The boy from Brent scored two goals in Gareth Southgate side’s first three games of the tournament by stepping up during captain Kane’s difficult start to the tournament.

Sterling’s goals were the difference in the group stages; decisive goals against Croatia and a rare headed finish against the Czech Republic helped England finish top of group D – setting up a fixture against old foes Germany at Wembley in the Round of 16.

He converted once again against Germany, putting the Three Lions into the lead before Harry Kane wrapped up the occasion with four minutes remaining.

In England’s quarter-final game against Ukraine in Rome, Sterling’s hawk-like vision saw him pick out Kane who pounced by scoring his side’s first of the night on their way to their first European semi-final in 25 years.

Sterling was involved in the action again as throughout the game he kept up his unforgiving bombardment of the Danish defence which saw the 26-year-old bought down in the penalty area where Kane converted despite the best efforts of Kasper Schmeichel in goal.

Another player who has received many plaudits from England fans throughout the Euros has been Jordan Pickford, who has already grabbed the Golden Glove award after his fantastic run of five clean sheets in the opening five fixtures of the tournament, and only conceding one goal which was an outstanding free-kick from Mikkel Damsgaard in Wednesday’s semi-final.

Due to his sporadic club form throughout the most recent Premier League campaign, many England fans called for Pickford to be replaced by either Nick Pope or Dean Henderson, however both ‘keepers were ruled out of the tournament before a ball was kicked due to injury.

Gareth Southgate kept his faith in the Everton shot-stopper, due to his tournament experience and his heroics at Russia 2018. And following the many match-winning saves the 27-year-old has made many England fans have a slice of humble pie.

During Euro 2020, Pickford also clinched the record of the most minutes an England goalkeeper has gone without conceding a goal – 725.

There isn’t a particular moment where Pickford has stood out most as he has been a superb goalkeeper throughout the tournament, however in England’s game against Germany Pickford denied a well-struck volley from Kai Havertz moments before rushing out and spreading himself to put off Thomas Muller as the Bayern Munich man rolled his one-on-one shot wide with just over ten-minutes remaining.

There’s no doubt that the recipient of the award will be a deserved one, however on Sunday if the Three Lions are victorious against Italy, we could see a tight poll between several players who’ve captured the hearts of the nation and restored a sense of pride amongst the English people.

Phillips is potentially more of a stand out candidate due to his midfield general play, which has enabled England to be a lot more solid in the middle helping themselves to get so far, as well as brushing aside sides like Germany and Croatia along the way, who the Three Lions had previously been defeated by.

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