Kalvin Phillips needs little courage to look back on the intoxicating and dizzying summer night that passed the last time England faced Germany. They were riding a wave at Euro 2020 and so was he: it was only the 10th edition of the midfielder and, after a provisional start, he produced the kind of insistent and ball-like performance that had so quickly become an integral part. of the national team.
“It was an amazing day,” he says of the 2-0 win at Wembley. “I still remember him, and so did the reaction. It was one of the best games I’ve ever played; We hope to be able to play the same game in the next few days and get another good result. “
This is not beyond England, even if the appearances in Budapest on Saturday suggested otherwise. Phillips, 26, had little time to settle in Hungary as a late substitute, but is expected to play from the start against Hansi Flick’s team. As he roared at the European Championships, this time it seems more like a standing start.
Last year Phillips arrived after an outstanding personal and team season with a Leeds team that won hearts under Marcelo Bielsa; The backdrop for this summer’s League of Nations challenges has been a hair-raising battle that was navigated by a hair and a campaign in which 16 games with hamstring problems were lost.
“Obviously last season we were playing very well as a team and [this time] we had some difficult times with results, ”he says. “I think the other day I read a statistic that said Leeds had more players missing due to injury during the season. But in the end it was all worth it, we stood up and it was also a great feeling.”
Chances are you’ll channel it forever. Excluding the one-off defeat to Italy, Hungary’s defeat was their first as a player in England. Given that he was 11 minutes on the pitch, it was hard to lose that unbeaten record, which had lasted 19 appearances. Phillips has become crucial to Gareth Southgate’s plans and it was easy to see why at the Puskas Arena. England fought in the middle of the field for most of the night; Jude Bellingham, who would be better used in a three than in a two, sometimes seemed lost and the dynamic influence Phillips can exert alongside Declan Rice was clearly conspicuous by his absence.
Englishman Jude Bellingham flies against Hungary. Photo: Lee Smith / Action Images / Reuters
A competent Hungarian team, but barely stellar, marked the point that England is not good enough to assume that it can stutter during matches while it is a few degrees below its best. “I think acting opens our eyes,” Phillips says. “We know it won’t be a breeze when we go to the World Cup or the next matches. We know that we will face difficult teams, which will defend us well.
“I think Germany is just the opposite. They will attack us, try to get behind us and create a lot of chances. As long as we defend well I don’t think we will have any problems.”
It was an analysis that somewhat underestimated a clever and proactive way out of the Hungarians. No one could seriously claim that England had its bottom line at full capacity. But England have to tread a line between playing the occasion alongside their opponents on Tuesday; a full house at the Allianz Arena in Munich will have its own advantage, because this device rarely has anything else.
Bets will feel higher. In the field, Germany is in a reasonable position after the draws in Italy and in March in the Netherlands. They had previously won eight games in a row, albeit against more modest opposition; a page has been turned on the desolate way in which Joachim Löw’s reign at Wembley ended.
For Phillips, any old score is the second to defeat the rejuvenated enemy in front of them. “We would love to go there, win the game and not have to worry because we have to win them over for history and things like that,” he says. “But every time we face Germany, it will be a great match.”
Phillips has shown that he can handle them. He doesn’t completely reject the idea of England players feeling tired at the end of such an annoying national season – “You could say that, but I don’t want to use it as an excuse” – but it won’t explain a failure. arrive in Qatar well prepared.
“We want to follow a streak of victories before the World Cup,” he says. England have their best chance of doing so if Phillips and Rice are in tandem to cover every blade of grass, providing the necessary defensive awareness in tight clashes. Recovering the feeling of 12 months ago would be very opportune for the player and the team.