Kalvin Phillips was an unused substitute as England thrashed Iran 6-2 in their World Cup opener at the Khalifa International Stadium and it remains to be seen if he’ll feature in the Three Lions’ second group game as Mason Mount impressed in midfield.
England lock horns with USA on Friday, November 25 and Phillips will be desperate to play some part, but Gareth Southgate is likely to stick with his midfield trio of Mount, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham.
Jacob Steinberg of the Guardian gave Mount a player rating of 8/10 and said he ‘looked dynamic and inventive’. Jamie Braidwood of the Independent gave the Englishman a player rating of 8/10 and lauded his decision-making on the ball.
Against Iran, Mount played for 70 minutes, had 50 touches, completed 88.9% of his 36 passes, created one chance, had one shot, whipped in one cross, found a teammate with all three of his long balls, made one tackle, had two successful dribbles and won four freekicks.
Rice is essential as the holding midfielder while Bellingham is key to giving England a box-to-box threat, so Mount would be the one making way for Phillips as the ball-winner. But his performance was too good to justify Southgate replacing him against the USA.
If England have sealed their place in the knockouts before their final group game, Phillips might be handed a start. Otherwise, he’ll have to be patient for an opportunity. He’s fortunate to make the squad given his injury problems and lack of playing time this season anyway.
In other news, Jack Grealish isn’t guaranteed to start v USA despite scoring against Iran
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