Gareth Southgate would love Kalvin Phillips to fight his way into England’s Euro 2024 squad but felt he had to drop the out-of-sorts midfielder this month as he was not confident about his performance levels.
The 28-year-old has established himself as a key figure in the national team set-up since winning the first of his 31 caps away to Denmark in September 2020.
Phillips was named England men’s player of the year for 2020-21 after shining in the run to the European Championship final, but pressure has mounted on his position since leaving Leeds for Manchester City in 2022.
The midfielder barely made an impact under Pep Guardiola and joined West Ham on loan in January, but a disastrous start there led to his omission from Southgate’s final squad before naming his Euros selection.
“There are times when you know your best players are your best players,” the England boss told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“Other people might doubt it but you’re going with them because you know that you can get that level of performance from them.
“At the moment, I couldn’t be confident on the performances Kalvin’s had in the last few weeks that he could go onto the field and do the job we know that he’s capable of.
“So, there’s absolutely no reason why he can’t find that form. Nothing would give us more pleasure than having a Kalvin that’s back in the rhythm of playing and back to full confidence.
“We will be a better team, squad, whatever that might be, if that’s the case, so we’re hoping he can find that.
“Maybe a moment like this where you think, well, that’s perhaps the lowest it can get for him in terms of the last few months, now he can just go for it and be himself.”
Southgate last year warned that Phillips’ place was in jeopardy if he continued to be a peripheral figure at City but believes the “outstanding player” has the attributes to bounce back.
“I think he knows exactly what we think of him,” Southgate at the Wembley press conference. “I think we’ve shown that support.
“A good version of him is an important player for us and that’s why we’ve supported him as we have. We don’t have many players of that profile.
“Unfortunately, his form just hasn’t been good enough. I’ve spoken to him about that, he understands.”
Phillips was omitted from the 25-man squad for March’s Wembley double-header against Brazil and Belgium, which has seen Southgate have to juggle a swathe of injuries among other things.
But setbacks for some means opportunities for others, with Everton centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite, 21, and Newcastle forward Anthony Gordon, 23, receiving their first senior call-ups.
“He’s good with the ball, shows good composure, good mentality,” Southgate said of Branthwaite.
“He’s a left footer and we don’t have many left-footed defenders, so he’s in our merit and we’re really keen to work with him and find out a bit more about him.”
On Gordon, the England boss said: “Consistently good performances. He was very close in November, as we said at the time.
“He’s continued his form, he’s scoring, his work for the team is excellent. He competes, which is important, so I really like his attitude.”
Arsenal’s Ben White ruled himself out of a call-up and there was a return from the international wilderness for versatile Liverpool defender Joe Gomez, who won the last of his 11 England caps in 2020.
Brentford striker Ivan Toney is also back at first time of asking, having returned from an eight-month Football Association betting ban in January.
Southgate does not know whether there is enough room in the Euros squad for him and Ollie Watkins to back up Harry Kane this summer, but he wanted to work with the one-cap striker again.
“I think we feel that Ivan is one of the contenders in that role, so it’s important to bring him back in and for him to be able to work with us again,” Southgate said.
“He’s shown straight away, getting back into Brentford’s team the quality and the impact that he can have.”
Manchester City's success is "not boring" or purely determined by financial reasons, head coach Pep Guardiola insists.
The Citizens are on the hunt for an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title, and could become the first team to win back-to-back doubles should they also prevail in the FA Cup final later this month.
Once again, City appear to be hitting form at just the right time, winning each of their last four matches by an aggregate scoreline of 15-1.
Guardiola's side are a point behind leaders Arsenal heading into the final week of the campaign, and will leapfrog the Gunners should they win their game in hand against Tottenham.
But the Spaniard rejected the claim City's success is becoming too predictable - or that it is down to the money they have spent - believing other teams would have lifted more silverware than his side had that been the case.
"It's not boring," he said. "It's difficult. Before, it was the money. For that reason, Manchester United should have won all the titles, Chelsea - all the titles, Arsenal - all the titles.
"They spent as much money in the last five years as us. They should be there. They are not there.
"For that reason, Girona shouldn’t be in the Champions League [next season] and Leicester should win the Premier League."
City will take a giant step towards that fourth straight Premier League crown with victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday.
While Guardiola admits the achievement was not at the forefront of his squad's intentions at the beginning of the campaign, he is well aware of it's significance.
"In the beginning of the season, we didn't think about it," he added. "But then we were in February, March and April, we were still there [in the title race]. After that, it ignites something in all our heads.
"No team has done it. That shows how hard it is. Liverpool in the 1980s, Alex Ferguson's [Manchester] United in the 1990s. Chelsea with [Roman] Abramovich and Jose [Mourinho], Arsenal with [Arsene] Wenger didn't do it."
Klopp laments late lapse as Liverpool fail to see out win
Jurgen Klopp was lamented his side's late mistake as Liverpool gave up a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 with Aston Villa in the Premier League on Monday.
The Reds were on top after a quick start as Emiliano Martinez gifted them an opener inside the first 61 seconds. Though Youri Tielemans equalised for Villa, Cody Gakpo and Jarell Quansah put Liverpool back in control.
Jhon Duran scored twice late on, netting in the 85th and 88th minutes to deny Klopp’s side three points.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, the German admitted that though they could not see out the win, he was proud of his team’s performance.
He said: "It got away from us. We played really good football. We were really good, played a lot of good stuff and caused a lot of problems.
"Before we changed, we gave them too many chances. It was very intense for the boys. They created too much. They were too often in our box, and we made the changes. Then we made a mistake. It happens but in that moment, it opens the door.
"They scored an equaliser, and I don't even know how. The character from the boys tonight was outstanding in our situation. We wanted to win the game. In the moment, when we gave away the 3-2, that was really tricky. That's it, that's the story of the game."
It looked like Quansah’s goal would be the winner for much of the second half, with the young defender heading in his first goal for Liverpool.
"I've been waiting for that moment," he told the BBC. "I don't score too many goals, so when it goes in the back of the net you just saw the emotion come out I guess.
"I just tried to get the best contact on it as I could. I'm thankful it went in.
"The way the crowd celebrated was a surreal moment, definitely one I'll never forget."
Emery praises 'special' Duran in Villa comeback
Unai Emery has praised "special" Jhon Duran after his late brace secured Aston Villa a point in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Liverpool in the Premier League on Monday.
The Reds looked to be on their way to a 3-1 despite Youri Tielemans’ strike after Cody Gakpo and Jarell Quansah added to Emiliano Martinez’s early own goal.
However, Duran's 79th-minute introduction changed the game as the Colombian scored twice in three minutes to salvage a draw.
Villa needed a win to secure a Champions League spot, but a point keeps their fate in their own hands despite Tottenham having a game in hand against Manchester City on Tuesday.
Emery was full of praise for his forward, acknowledging how important his goals could be by Sunday.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "Jhon Duran is a special player. We have to try and help him. He is a good guy, and he needs a team behind him. He is getting our demands better. He was very clinical and today was important for him.
"Today we are celebrating with our supporters, we have to push it and keep working and be consistent. We were consistent all the season. The team was being mature and always consistent in our mind. Inch by inch we did it.
"We are very proud of the season. It is not enough at the moment to get fourth. Even after we scored the two goals, we had chances. We are celebrating the season here with our supporters in Villa Park.
"We are only thinking of us. We will prepare for our match on Sunday, everything is in our hands."
Villa were on a three-game losing run going into the Liverpool contest, and John McGinn highlighted the team’s strong mentality to avoid another defeat.
"It's a brilliant effort towards the end. We got a bit of luck. It's been a tough few weeks with lads coming back and playing through the pain barrier. This place got us going," he told Sky Sports after the game.
"There's some of us that have never been close to the Champions League in our life. The manager has a no-excuse mentality. People have written us off and we've floated under the radar. We'll have our Man City tops on tomorrow.
"Big Jhon [Duran] is a bit nuts and is a nightmare to have in your team, but he's got quality. We need to keep his feet on the ground over the next couple of days."
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