England manager Gareth Southgate gave Kalvin Phillips a glowing reference after the midfielder's performance in the Three Lions' 2-1 win over Poland on Wednesday evening.
The Leeds United midfielder played all 90 minutes as England kept up their 100 per cent record in World Cup qualifying Group I as they look to book their spot in next year's tournament in Qatar.
Before that, Southgate's side will take part in this summer's rescheduled Euro 2020 tournament and after playing more minutes than any other outfielder in last month's triple-header, Phillips has put himself in a strong position to make the Three Lions' 23-man squad this summer.
"We're really pleased with what Kalvin has done," Southgate said after last night's win at Wembley.
"We were going to pick him last March when he was in the Championship [prior to the pandemic]. He came in in August before he had played in the Premier League.
"Kalvin has been a great addition to the group. Super boy, great humility, very, very good player, is really reliable with his rebounding of the ball in midfield. His athleticism is critical."
Phillips has played alongside West Ham midfielder Declan Rice in a midfield pivot, something which Southgate felt was vindicated after goals from Harry Kane and Harry Maguire against the Poles.
"We contemplated making a change for a long time but our attacking players were all having an impact. Declan and Kalvin giving us that stability in front of defence was key," he added. "We stuck with it. Sometimes you have to hold your nerve and stick with what you believe to be right."
England are next in action in June when they take on Austria and then Romania as warm-up matches before facing Croatia, Scotland and the Czech Republic in the Euro 2020 group stage.
