England managed to pick up a narrow 1-0 win over Croatia in the European Championships and Raheem Sterling scored the match-winning goal for the Three Lions.
Gareth Southgate’s men seemed in reasonable control throughout the contest despite not managing to put up a spectacular performance.
However, some of the individual displays certainly caught the attention.
Manchester City winger Raheem Sterling put on a splendid display for his country. Another player who managed to deliver an outstanding performance for England yesterday was the Leeds United midfielder, Kalvin Phillips.
The 25-year-old harassed the Croatian midfield with his relentless pressing throughout the game. Phillips was excellent defensively as well and he managed to shield the back four expertly.
Furthermore, the midfielder also played a big role in England scoring the only goal of the game. The Leeds ace set up Sterling’s winner with an impressive solo run.
Former England international and Premier League legend Alan Shearer has now heaped praise on the 25-year-old Leeds midfielder stating that he was the best player on the pitch against Croatia.
“I thought he was man of the match for England today,” he told BBC One. “I thought he was superb from start to finish. He had energy, he had the 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.”
It was a very positive start and plenty of good performances but @Kalvinphillips was MOM for me. 👍🏻 https://t.co/gqjtYilZfG
— Alan Shearer (@alanshearer) June 13, 2021
Phillips will be delighted with his performance in the opening game of the European Championships and he will be hoping to build on it over the next few weeks.
The Leeds midfielder seems to have formed a reliable partnership at the heart of England’s midfield alongside Declan Rice and it will be difficult for the likes of Jordan Henderson to get back into the starting line-up if they continue to perform at this level.
Read: Leeds keen on a move for 17-goal winger this summer.
