KALVIN PHILLIPS shone for England as they got their Euro 2020 campaign off to a perfect start with a 1-0 win against Croatia.
And the Leeds ace impressed fans so much he has been compared to AC Milan’s entire legendary midfield.
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◉ Passing like Pirlo
◉ Tackling like Gattuso
◉ Dribbling like KakàKalvin Phillips is not the Yorkshire Pirlo, he’s the entire Milan midfield. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/gYVwPJ6Fi1
— Squawka Bet (@SquawkaBet) June 13, 2021
SunSport’s Duncan Wright gave Phillips the joint highest player rating for the Wembley opener.
The midfielder provided the perfectly weighted through ball for Raheem Sterling to score the winner.
And the football world was quick to heap praise on the 25-year-old after the game.
Leeds fans often call Phillips the ‘Yorkshire Pirlo’.
And Squawka tweeted: “Passing like Pirlo, tackling like Gattuso, dribbling like Kaka.
“Kalvin Phillips is not the Yorkshire Pirlo, he’s the entire Milan midfield.”
Jose Mourinho singled out Phillips after the game on talkSPORT.
Asked who his standout performer, Mourinho replied without hesitation: “Kalvin Phillips.
“He a player without international experience. He’s not a player that arrives from the Champions League, he doesn’t arrive with 20, 25 caps.
“He is a player that arrived last season from the Championship and of course he played the whole season in the most intense and difficult league in the world.
“He showed amazing personality. Rice was stable like he always is, but Phillips was more than stable.
“He showed that not just with the goal but also in the way he was pressing high, he was in a position side to side with Declan Rice but every time Modric or Kovacic were dropping, trying to go away from them, he was not afraid of pushing up and trying to press higher.
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“I don’t remember him missing a pass in a dangerous building up area.
“I think he was very, very good and when you see one of these young guys appearing in these big stages and performing the way he did, it is fantastic.”
Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate was delighted with Phillips’ showing and said: “Kalvin Phillips is a player who is so understated.
“He has had a fantastic start to his international career. I thought he was immense throughout the game – as they all were.”
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Matchwinner Sterling said after the game: “He was good in there. He brings a lot of energy to the team and is on the front foot.
“He is always in their faces but he uses the ball well. For our goal you can see the clever play and the great weight of pass.
“It was a first major tournament and a first major game for us so he did brilliantly.”
And BBC pundit Frank Lampard said: “I think it’s a great story for a lad that was playing in the Championship not that long ago.
“Now Kalvin Phillips playing at this level here in the England team and speaking so well after the game.
“We see him week in, week out playing in a deep area. His game has really improved and he controls the game from the deep area.
“Gareth has asked the question of him today – Can you play higher? Can you give us that energy? Can you give us that bit of brain that he brought into the team?
“I thought he did it brilliantly well. I’d say the balance of the midfield was spot on today.”
And former England goal machine Alan Shearer said: “I thought Kalvin Phillips was man of the match.
“He had a superb game from start to finish. He had an energy, a 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.”
Phillips himself looked delighted after the game and he remained humble in his interview – insisting on praising those around him.
He told the BBC: “It’s a great feeling to get an assist and a great feeling for the three points.
“I’m laid back – that’s the kind of person I am regardless of what is thrown at me. I just try and take it in my stride.
“If I didn’t have the team around me and the coaching staff around me to make me feel like that then I don’t think it would be possible.
“There’s a lot of talk about me and Declan Rice fighting for one position but when we play together, I think we play really well. It’s an honour to play with him.”
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