Kalvin Phillips and his England team mates had an evening to forget on Tuesday as they were embarrassed by a rampant Hungary side. The 4-0 defeat at Molineux was the Three Lions’ heaviest home defeat since 1928 and rounded off a torrid international break for Gareth Southgate’s side.
It extended the run to four matches in June without a win having scored only one goal: Harry Kane’s late penalty against Germany. Although, the lack of energy in the performances is hardly surprising given the amount of miles in the legs of the England players from one of the longest seasons on record.
As for Phillips, it was his second start of the summer and this time he managed to see out the full 90 minutes but it was far from his best. The Leeds United midfielder lacked his usual composure on the ball and was often overzealous in the tackle, leading to some tough criticism from those watching on.
Here is how he was rated by the national media following the 4-0 defeat.
‘A real contributor to the failure to create’
To kick off a rather dire collection of ratings, inews awarded Phillips a 3/10. The rating was paired with a fairly harsh description of his performance: “Phillips struggled to transition the ball at pace – a real contributor to the failure to create. He was then at fault as Hungary broke for their second.
‘Looked fatigued and passed poorly’
90min felt that a 3/10 was too generous and, instead, opted for a 2/10 because of the role he played in Hungary’s first two goals. Their rating read: “Conceded a needless foul and then lost [Roland] Sallai from the subsequent free kick before he controlled and rattled it home. Looked fatigued and passed poorly. Things went from bad to worse when he was dispossessed and outmuscled in the build-up to the second.”
‘An evening to forget’
The top line from the Sky Sports rating of Phillips is the perfect way to describe the match from an England - and from Phillips’ – perspective. They also felt he deserved a higher rating than both of the above scores with a 4/10 being given.
“An evening to forget for the Leeds midfielder,” said the writer. “Gave Roland Sallai too much space for the opening goal, allowing him to take a touch before firing home, then caught in possession by Hungary substitute Martin Adam in the build-up to Sallai's second.”
‘Not himself’
The Telegraph also awarded Phillips a 4/10: “Not himself. It was from a free-kick needlessly conceded by Phillips that Hungary took the lead and the midfielder was muscled off the ball in the build up to the visitors’ second.”
‘Looked off the pace’
Leeds supporters will tell you better than anyone that, since returning from lengthy injury lay-off, Phillips hasn’t yet got back to his best level and that was echoed in TEAMtalk’s ratings. They were another of the outlets to give him just 3/10.
“Gave away the free kick that led to the opening goal and lost sight of goalscorer Sallai,” the rating read. “Otherwise tried to be combative at the base of midfield but sometimes risked further fouls. Was also to blame for the second goal when he was dispossessed. Looked off the pace.”
‘This should have been Phillips’ chance to shine’
There were some quite harsh words for Phillips in Squawka’s player ratings from the match as they too felt he was deserving of a 3/10 rating. The writing that paired with their rating read: “If Kalvin Phillips was trying to play his way out of having to leave his beloved Leeds this summer then he did a wonderful job tonight. Without Rice next to him this should have been Phillips’ chance to shine as a lone pivot but without the coherence of the Bielsa system, Phillips looked rickety and rusty. His defending on Hungary’s second goal was… a choice.”
‘He is capable of much better than this’
Football365 came to Phillips’ defence somewhat over the blame that was pinned on him for Hungary’s first goal although they also detailed his shortcomings for the other goals. While an official rating wasn’t given, one wouldn’t imagine it ever had a chance of being a good one.
They wrote: “The margins are so narrow, but when Kalvin Phillips’ slightly delayed reaction was called out as being responsible for the first Hungary goal by the Channel Four commentary team, this felt a tiny bit harsh. None of this is to say that England’s defending for this goal wasn’t utterly calamitous. It’s more that this was a collective calamity, rather than anything that could be pinned on any one individual. Much like everything else in this match, really.
“Otherwise, Phillips was caught through the middle for the second goal, and was nowhere to be seen for the third or fourth. He is capable of much better than this, as can be seen from Manchester City’s interest in signing him. There may be an emergency meeting to discuss whether Pep still thinks pursuing him is a good idea or not.”
