Kalvin Phillips admits he was 'fortunate not to get SENT OFF' and lacked match sharpness during...

"Phillips Lucky To Avoid Red And Lacks Match Sharpness In England's 3-1 Win Due To Lack Of Minutes At Manchester City"

Article written by Ben Willcocks for Mailonline

Released on: 23:03 British Summer Time, October 17th, 2023 | Modified: 01:02 British Summer Time, October 18th, 2023

Kalvin Phillips has confessed that he wasn't as sharp as he could have been during England's remarkable 3-1 victory over Italy on Tuesday and acknowledges that he narrowly avoided being dismissed.

Gareth Southgate chose to trust the Manchester City player, who has not been getting much chances to play consistently under Pep Guardiola this season. The midfielder, along with Declan Rice, managed to prevent Italy's creative players from causing too much trouble for most of the game. This was a positive outcome for Southgate's decision to keep faith in the player.

Once Gianluca Scamacca scored in the 16th minute, Harry Kane evened the score with a penalty kick at the hour mark.

In the second half, England's performance improved significantly with the help of Jude Bellingham's impressive display in midfield alongside Rice and Phillips. They scored two goals through Marcus Rashford and Kane, securing their spot in the upcoming Euro 2024 tournament.

In the beginning of the match, Phillips received a not-so-great yellow card and had to be cautious with his playing style while in the defensive midfield position. Eventually, halfway through the second half, Southgate chose to replace him with Henderson.

Kalvin Phillips confessed that he was experiencing a shortage of match readiness during the game against Italy.

Even though the midfielder has not played much at Man City, Gareth Southgate still chooses him for the team.

Phillips contributed well to the defense in the midfield, enabling No. 10 Jude Bellingham to have an excellent play in the game as the Three Lions won against Italy 3-1 at Wembley Stadium. With this victory, the team secured their spot in the Euro 2024.

The ex-Leeds player, who has only played as a starter once for Manchester City in any of the contests this season, accepted that his unsuccessful challenge was due to his not being in optimal playing form.

Phillips admitted that he was fortunate to stay on the field after the referee failed to give him a second yellow card for his late challenge towards the end of the first half.

The midfielder acknowledged that he expected to receive a yellow card. He extended his leg and was fortunate not to be given a red card. It's just the way football goes and it's in line with his style of play.

As someone who plays football professionally, the desire to be on the field is always burning. Unfortunately, I haven't had many opportunities to do so in the past 18 months. My main goal is to represent England and begin playing regularly. I performed well against Scotland and will make sure that I am prepared for anything that may come my way.

I had a match with Gareth today and it was great to wear the white jersey once more. I really strive for playing time and my ultimate goal is to participate in the Euros.

The Manchester City player who is not currently receiving much attention, mentioned that he was quite fortunate to have not been sent off during the game.

Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, made the decision to leave out Phillips from the squad when they played against Arsenal. This was done even though Rodri, another player, was unable to play due to an injury.

According to Phillips, his top concern is securing a spot on the plane to Germany for Euro 2024.

Manchester City didn't have enough midfield players due to Rodri's suspension and Kevin De Bruyne's injury before the international break. Despite this, Guardiola selected Bernardo Silva for the defensive midfield position against Arsenal, ignoring Phillips. Unfortunately, City lost the match 1-0.

Even though Southgate has been picking players who are finding it tough to get game time, like Manchester United's Harry Maguire, Phillips' likelihood of being chosen for the Euro 2024 team would significantly rise if he had more opportunities to play on the field.

Following the game, the manager of the England football team expressed his preference for all players on the team to have consistent playing time. He recognized that some players, namely Kalvin and Maguire, may have doubts about their club level experience, but praised their exceptional performance during the match and acknowledged their crucial roles on the team.

Naturally, we would prefer it if they could play more often, but they face tough competition from highly skilled players on their teams. For instance, Kalvin is pitted against formidable opponents like (Mateo) Kovacic and Rodri, making it reasonable for his playing time to be limited. However, he consistently performs exceptionally well for us.

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