Both Raheem Sterling and Kalvin Phillips raised quite a few eyebrows with their selection before the game. But it was the two controversial names who stepped up massively as England put one foot into the knockout stages with a 1-0 win against Croatia.
The Gareth Southgate-led side scored in the second half as Marcelo Bielsa mentee Kalvin Phillips went on a vicious run and served a delicious pass for the Manchester City winger to score a goal past Dominik Livakovic.
The Leeds United midfielder covered every blade of grass in what was a terrific outing on his debut in a major tournament and eventually made the decisive run from midfield that broke down Croatia’s defensive line.
Check out England’s goal against Croatia below –
What an assist from Phillips! Absolutely sensational!
— LUFC Vision (@lufcvision) June 13, 2021#lufc pic.twitter.com/E6YvsHZbqA
That pass from Kalvin Phillips
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) June 13, 2021Watch & listen: https://t.co/txmDmNkj3v#ENGCRO #Euro2020 #bbceuro2020 pic.twitter.com/03A0J7mLi5
Give Kalvin Phillips an MBE tomorrow…#ENGCRO #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/CYVJ1rttxs
— Somebody (@AriesBredrin) June 13, 2021