Before everything World CupWe are shocked to learn of the tragic news that a key player has been injured. Dani Alves was the Brazil player in 2018, 2018. The unlucky Marco Reus was there four years ago, when he was beaten by Schalke. There were fears that he could also miss the 2022 World Cup, which will be held in Qatar. In 2010, Michael Ballack was the one to sustain an ankle injury. FA CupFinal against Portsmouth.
Paul Pogba’s delayed surgery this summer makes him a huge doubt for the World Cup, and another midfielder who could be a doubt for the World Cup is England’s Kalvin Phillips.
England’s tradition of pre-tournament injury scares is a long one. In 2002, it was David Beckham’s metatarsal. In 2006, it was Wayne Rooney’s before Harry Kane’s ankle caused concern in 2018.
Phillips is now in question. He might need surgery to restore his full strength after a slow start. Manchester City career. Since suffering an injury to his shoulder, he has had problems with his shoulder. Leeds United’s final game of the 2020-21 season. There were concerns he would miss Euro 2020, but he recovered and played a key part as Gareth Southgate’s side reached the final at Wembley that summer.
England are not short of midfielders but missing Phillips would be a huge blow for Southgate and England’s chances at the World Cup because he offers a combination of abilities that few others do.
Phillips can play a dual role and is the best option out of all the Southgate options. Phillips is not only highly technical with the ball, in terms his range and passing, but also has an excellent defensive skill set, making him invaluable.
To illustrate this, we can use John Muller’s player roles analysis, which redefines positions based on the type and location of a player’s actual touches. These are the full explanations..
Under these terms, Phillips is classed as a Builder, a player who acts as the team’s main circulation hub in possession and as a defensive stopper at the base of midfield.
You can also see what he does in the pitch by looking at smarterscout’s ratings, which gives players’ skills a series of ratings from zero and 99. These ratings are used to determine how often a player executes a particular stylistic action (for instance, the volume of shots per touching) or how effective they can be at it (for instance, how quickly they move the ball upfield). Phillips’s progression in passing numbers shows how keen he was to make long passes that move his team forward.
What does this all mean in real life?
Those passes help England when it comes to quick switches of play, playing balls behind the opponents’ defence and on the transition, and this was clear during Euro 2020. On more than one occasion, Phillips’ accurate long passes put England in a goalscoring opportunity.
You can use against, for example. ScotlandPhillips spots after dropping to his right side Phil Foden’s run in behind the Scottish defence and springs an inch-perfect pass to his now Manchester City team-mate…
…Foden manages to control the ball, but shoots wide. The goal would have been disallowed anyway as Foden was in an offside position, but this doesn’t decrease the importance of Phillips’ ability to play these passes.
Another example is against GermanyIn the round of 16. Phillips spots after clearing the corner. Kieran Trippier’s run and plays the ball over the Germans to put Trippier in a great crossing position…
…from which the defender manages to find Harry MaguireWho misses the target from close distance?
These passes are crucial for England when considering the attacking options out there, whether it’s switches of play to place wide forwards in one on one situations or balls in behind defence for wide runners.
These passes also benefit spatial awareness of another player. Mason Mount. The Chelsea midfielder’s awareness of where the space is and when to attack it makes him an optimal receiver for these passes.
In this instance, against Denmark in the semi-final, Phillips puts Mount in front of goal with a single pass that takes out eight Danish players…
…before Mount dribbles inside to bring the ball onto his left foot, and his shot is blocked.
The importance of these accurate long passes isn’t only chance creation, it can also act as a tool to relieve pressure if England face a high-pressing opponent.
The other aspect of Phillips’ importance is his defensive skill set. Phillips is an elite disruptor of the opponent’s moves through tackling, fouling, blocking and clearing — he scores 91 out of 99 in smarterscout’s data when it comes to disrupting opposition moves. Additionally, his 81 out of 99 rating for ball recoveries and interceptions shows Phillips’ ability to mop up balls in the centre of the pitch.
The number of aerial duels Phillips contests is about average for a defensive midfielder (aerial duels quantity: 53 out of 99) but it’s interesting to see that he scores 88 out of 99 when it comes to aerial duels from set pieces, which further outlines his potential importance to Southgate’s side out of possession.
It’s no surprise that Pep Guardiola believed he was the ideal replacement for Fernandinho. “Fernandinho finally decided to travel to Brazil., we were looking for a holding midfielder and we thought he (Phillips) was perfect for us.”
Although his City career is just beginning, Southgate believes he is perfect for England. The manager could do what he did if he missed the World Cup.
When looking at Phillips’ peers in the national side, we can see that they might offer some beneficial skills but none is a carbon copy. Jude Bellingham’s immaculate ability on the ball might position him as an option despite not providing the same level of progressive passing as Phillips (15 out of 99), but the question is Bellingham’s defensive suitability in that deeper role (disrupting opposition moves: 39 out of 99, ball recoveries and interceptions: 47 out of 99).
Another thing to flag is Bellingham. More of an Orchestrator than Builder. He prefers shorter, higher-percentage passes in more advanced positions up the pitch where he can then hurt the opponent — as we can see in those small bumps in the Creator and Box parts of the graph below — compared to Phillips’ longer passes.
The next player to watch is James Ward-Prowse, who is a specialist in set-pieces and central to Southampton’s build-up play and has the ability to play those progressive passes and switch play like Phillips (progressive passing: 92 out of 99). However, Ward-Prowse doesn’t offer the same defensive skill set as Phillips, making fewer defensive actions (disrupting opposition moves: 33 out of 99) and restricting ball progression less effectively when he is the assigned defender (defending impact: 20 out of 99).
His move from a Creator to a Distributor perhaps shows a higher probability to accommodate a deeper passing role, but he’s still active in the opponent’s half more than the defensive third.
The third option is Jordan Henderson, a player whose intensity off the ball makes him central to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. However, Henderson’s profile is more suited to the right side of central midfield at Liverpool than the deeper role — something Klopp realised towards the end of the 2018-19 season. “He likes that position (right side of midfield) so it is my fault he played for one and a half years as the holding player, but we needed him there,” Klopp said.
Henderson’s runs into the box and his integration with Liverpool’s flexible right-sided triangle make him the perfect fit for Liverpool, but England requires a different role from him, which limits his forward runs to accommodate — quite reasonably — a safer approach in possession.
Below is an example of Klopp’s words. Henderson has moved towards being more active in the opponent’s half, receiving progressive passes and becoming central to Liverpool attacks down their right side. Henderson had to cover for the 2020-21 blip. Fabinho when the Brazilian dropped into defence because of Liverpool’s injuries that season, and Henderson himself dropping into defence to cover as well.
The final option — and possibly the player most complementary to Phillips — is Declan Rice. The West HamPhillips is an experienced midfielder who can play deeper and has impressive defensive skills.
Rice’s ball-carrying ability makes him a strong threat on transitions and when trying to dribble forward or out of a pressing situation (carry & dribble volume: 94 out of 99), but he doesn’t provide the same progressive passing quality as Phillips (progressive passing: 25 out of 99), looking more to play those safer passes (link-up play volume: 82 out of 99) that make them a great fit together.
Without Phillips, Rice’s presence is essential. Rice understands the defensive priorities of his position and has the ability to fulfill the role. He is a proven player in the team and his ball-carrying abilities and threat on set pieces make him a solid choice for the West Ham midfielder.
This leaves us with three combinations — Rice and Henderson, Rice and Bellingham, or Rice and Ward-Prowse. The Henderson option is safer and more experienced. Bellingham could help England control possession better and be on the front foot. Ward-Prowse is unlikely to be chosen, particularly with Trippier providing the set-piece threat.
England will definitely miss Phillips if his surgery denies him from competing at the World Cup, but despite none of the replacements being an exact copy, they offer different skill sets that may benefit Southgate’s side in other ways.
