Quickfire changes in England’s formation to match Germany will not phase Kalvin Phillips after Marcelo Bielsa honed him and Leeds United into a Swiss Army knife.
In the build-up to Tuesday’s round-of-16 clash between England and Germany, much has been made of Joachim Low’s chosen formation and whether Gareth Southgate will switch to wing-backs in order to match their opponents.
Joshua Kimmich and Robin Gosens are the German wing-backs in question and should Southgate look to go into the match with a back-four, but switch into a three, Phillips or Declan Rice may need to drop back further.
As seasoned Leeds spectators will know, formation changes are the norm for Bielsa’s side and Phillips has proven himself more than adept as a centre-back or central midfielder beyond his usual holding role.
Asked how he felt about sudden changes in shape on Tuesday night, Phillips said: “At club level, at Leeds, if you ever watch a Leeds game, Marcelo changes the formation every time the other team does, so we can change formation 10 times in a game.
“I feel like I’m used to being in different positions around the pitch and when he first came in he didn’t just teach me how to be a central midfielder or defensive midfielder, he wanted me to learn how to defend as well.
“I feel like if I’m ever in them positions I can back myself quite easily.”
Bielsa expects all of his players, not just Phillips, to be able to play in more than one position and have the versatility to change shape at a moment’s notice.
Do not be surprised if Phillips, again, stands out for all of the right reasons at Wembley.
