Ally McCoist lavishes praise on 'absolutely outstanding' Leeds United player

The 25-year-old has been an ever-present for the Three Lions in the centre of the park, and picked up a man-of-the-match award in the group stage opener against Croatia.

With Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson returning to fitness, there have been some question marks over whether or not Phillips will retain his spot in the starting XI for Tuesday night’s knockout clash against Germany, but McCoist is in little doubt that his fearlessness will stand him in good stead for the match at Wembley.

Speaking to talkSPORT, he said: “I can understand why he [Gareth Southgate] would match up against Germany, and I get it because I think if England play well and Germany play well then I think England win because I think they’ve actually got better players.

“But if he doesn’t match up against them, he’s got an opportunity to go more attacking, and that’s where I’m leaning.

"You have to get balance in your team.

"The fact of the matter is, you know Gareth knows he can rely on Jordan Henderson – he knows exactly what he’ll get.

"At the same time, there’s freshness, and we saw it in the opening game against Croatia. I thought Phillips was absolutely outstanding.

"These guys who have come into this England setup just now, they don’t have any fear about previous England vs Germany games. They don’t know anything about it, they just want to go out and express themselves. They want to go and play.”