Kalvin Phillips has made England’s starting XI for the third successive game and Leeds United fans have reacted with mixed feelings.
Phillips will win his seventh cap for the Three Lions against Poland at Wembley Stadium this evening after Gareth Southgate named the Leeds midfielder in his side for the World Cup qualifier.
He will once again start alongside West Ham’s Declan Rice, continuing the same central midfield pairing which helped achieve a 2-0 win over Albania on Sunday.
Phil Foden, Mason Mount, Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane make up the remainder of Southgate’s attacking options for the Group I clash.
Burnley’s Nick Pope continues in goal, in the absence of the injured Jordan Pickford, while Chelsea’s Ben Chilwell has been handed an opportunity to impress at left-back ahead of Luke Shaw.
Phillips is looking to solidify his place in Southgate’s squad for this summer’s European Championships and a third straight start is an encouraging sign.
Southgate is without the injured Jordan Henderson, while Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse was forced to withdraw from the squad with a late fitness concern.
Phillips only broke into the England squad last year, following Leeds’ promotion to the Premier League, but has now firmly established himself in Southgate’s plans.
Leeds fans are generally delighted to see the 25-year-old start once again, but some have expressed concerns around injuries, with Saturday’s Premier League game against Sheffield United looming.
Phillips will not come up against Leeds team-mate Mateusz Klich this evening after the Polish midfielder was forced to withdraw from the squad having tested positive for Covid-19 last week.
Klich is not the only Poland player to be unavailable, with midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak, defender Kamil Piatkowski and back-up goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski all testing positive for the virus.
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski is also not playing, having picked up an injury.
