Leeds United's Kalvin Phillips completes Euros warm-up as Gareth Southgate runs through full England midfield options

LEEDS United midfielder Kalvin Phillips came through the opening 45 minutes as England defeated Romania 1-0 in their final Euros warm-up at the Riverside.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Former Whites loanee Ben White was also handed a full England debut in Sunday's friendly and impressed in playing the full match as he looked to secure a late call into Southgate's Euros squad.

Euros-bound Phillips started in centre midfield alongside Southampton's James Ward-Prowse who, like White, was not selected in the final 26-man squad for the Euros.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Southgate, though, is set to add one more player to his mix as a replacement for injured Liverpool right back Trent Alexander-Arnold and Ward-Prowse impressed in a goalless first half.

UNITED FOR ENGLAND: Whites midfielder Kalvin Phillips, left, and former Leeds loanee team-mate Ben White, right, both started for the Three Lions in Sunday's friendly against Romania at the Riverside. Photo by Nick Potts - Pool/Getty Images.UNITED FOR ENGLAND: Whites midfielder Kalvin Phillips, left, and former Leeds loanee team-mate Ben White, right, both started for the Three Lions in Sunday's friendly against Romania at the Riverside. Photo by Nick Potts - Pool/Getty Images.
UNITED FOR ENGLAND: Whites midfielder Kalvin Phillips, left, and former Leeds loanee team-mate Ben White, right, both started for the Three Lions in Sunday's friendly against Romania at the Riverside. Photo by Nick Potts - Pool/Getty Images.

Phillips played in a slightly deeper role than Ward-Prowse in the middle of the park as Southgate's three other main centre midfield options in Declan Rice, Jordan Henderson and Jude Bellingham started Sunday's friendly on the bench.

Phillips saw plenty of the ball and produced two fine diagonal passes to Jadon Sancho on the right flank but England were unable to make any breakthrough in the first half.

Phillips was then replaced during the interval by Liverpool captain Henderson who finally returned to action for the first time since February's Merseyside derby in which he picked up a groin injury.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Henderson formed a centre midfield axis with Ward-Prowse for the opening 20 minutes of the second half but Ward-Prowse and Jadon Sancho were then substituted for Bellingham and Rice in the 65th minute as Bellingham took up a more advanced role.

England went ahead two minutes later as Marcus Rashford netted from the penalty spot after Jack Grealish was fouled in the box.

The Three Lions were then awarded another spot kick ten minutes later after Dominic Calvert-Lewin was fouled and up stepped Henderson but the Reds captain saw his penalty saved.

The impressive 17-year-old Bellingham then saw his effort from a tight angle deflected on to the crossbar and England had to withstand some late Romania pressure but one goal proved enough to seal a sixth successive Three Lions victory.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Whites captain Liam Cooper is also Euros-bound with Scotland who took in their final warm-up match on Sunday evening against Luxembourg.

Cooper started and played 62 minutes of Wednesday night's 2-2 draw against the Netherlands but was not involved against Luxembourg as the Tartan Army signed off for the Euros with a 1-0 victory.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A message from the Editor:

Leeds has a fantastic story to tell - and the Yorkshire Evening Post has been rooted firmly at the heart of telling the stories of our city since 1890.

We believe in ourselves and hope you believe in us too. We need your support to help ensure we can continue to be at the heart of life in Leeds.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Subscribe to our website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app.

With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Click here to subscribe.

For more details on our newspaper subscription offers click here.

Thank you Laura Collins

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.