Jose Mourinho urges England boss Gareth Southgate to make 'fantastic' call and bench Kalvin Phillips or Declan Rice against Ukraine

The 25-year-old has caught the eye with a number of standout performances in the early stages of the competition, and has featured in all four of Southgate’s starting lineups to date.

But while both Phillips and midfield partner Declan Rice are just one yellow card away from missing a potential semi-final clash next week should England get that far, Mourinho is more concerned about the potential effects of fatigue on the duo.

Speaking to talkSPORT on Friday, the Special One suggested that one, if not both, of the pair should be benched: “I can answer without any pressure. I would say rest them both. You don’t need Rice and Phillips to beat Ukraine. Maximum one of them is needed.

“Jordan Henderson I want to believe is in condition to play. You have other players with fresh conditions and desire and motivation to play.

“The way Rice finished the game, he was completely exhausted, cramps! I believe that the semi-final will be much more difficult than the quarter-final.

“England don’t need to take some of their players to extreme situations of fatigue. A rest to Rice and Phillips would be fantastic, then to play in the semi-finals and final in the maximum of potential.

“But that’s me speaking. I have zero pressure and zero responsibility! If I tried to guess what Gareth will do I’d say Jordan Henderson plus one of Rice or Phillips.”