In a closely-fought final, England lost to Italy in a penalty shoot-out after the match ended 1-1 in regulation time.
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Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips has informed that he received a good luck message from Andrea Pirlo on the eve of England’s Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy. In a closely-fought final, England lost to Italy in a penalty shoot-out after the match ended 1-1 in regulation time. Phillips has been famously dubbed by a certain section of fans as the ‘Yorkshire Pirlo’, as his playing style is compared to the World Cup winner. In August, Pirlo had told The Athletic: “In England, there’s never been this kind of player. There have been great midfielders over the years with different skills – there’s the boy at Leeds (Phillips), who’s a bit of a regista (playmaker).”
The 25-year-old midfielder had been absent from the October internationals through injury. He had notably started all of England’s games on their run to a penalty shoot-out defeat against Italy in the Euro final. Phillips returned to the England side for Friday’s 5-0 win over Albania. The emphatic win has more or less assured them of World Cup qualification. Ahead of Monday’s final Group I qualifier in San Marino, Phillips has revealed how he heard from Pirlo ahead of the final loss.
“It’s always nice to get the recognition of some unbelievable players,” he was quoted as saying by Sky Sports. “The night before the final Jack Harrison, who used to play at New York City with him, sent me a video of Pirlo. It was a video to me saying ‘good luck in the final and he wishes me all the best’ so that was very nice.
“It was a very nice feeling and obviously I thought it was going to say something about Italy but, no, he wished me well – full respect for that. I just got the video and I was like ‘oh my God’. I’ve never met him, I’d like to meet him to be honest. I’ve seen that is a very cool guy, but I’ve heard he’s a nice guy as well. To have someone on the other side, on the other team, wish you well and especially a player like that, it is always a great feeling.”
In recent months, Declan Rice has formed a good midfield partnership with Phillips. Rice also started all of England’s Euro 2020 fixtures. “I love playing with Declan,” he said. “We’re two very similar players but work in different ways when we play together. Declan is almost a protector in front of the back four and I’m almost a dog that goes running after people that have got the ball.”
Asked if Rice could be compared to Gattuso in the same mould as Phillips’ likeness to Pirlo, he added: “You could say so! Declan is a very good player and you can see what he’s done this season with West Ham, the way he’s playing. He’s only going to get better and I’m very happy for him.”
Phillips refrained from asking for an Italy shirt after the final loss in July but revealed about a midfielder for the Azzurri who he is a fan of. “I knew it would be hard to get someone’s shirt after that,” he said. “I did ask for (Marco) Verratti’s. I’ve always loved him and think he’s an exceptional player. Obviously, he might have wanted to keep it as well as a souvenir for himself. There’s no hard feelings on that one.
“I don’t know whether I’m a similar kind of player to Verratti. I like getting stuck in. I just think when I watch him, the way he controls the game and if he needs to rat about, he can rat about. He’s very physical. He’s not very tall – I don’t know how tall he is but he’s quite short – but he’s very physical and he gets into the game really quick and gets stuck in, which I like.”
