Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden took a chunk of the plaudits as England swept Scotland aside 3-1 in their 150th anniversary friendly on Tuesday.
Foden darted around playfully from his starting position on the right flank and found a smart improvised finish to open the scoring when his Manchester City teammate Kyle Walker drilled across goal.
Bellingham enjoyed the freedom granted to him in the No.10 position and doubled England's lead before laying on a dazzling assist for captain Harry Kane to seal victory.
Declan Rice, now the most expensive British player in football history, was an assured presence behind them in central midfield but another less-celebrated member of Gareth Southgate's squad was key in giving Foden and Bellingham the license to thrill at Hampden Park.
Does that mean Kalvin Phillips is likely to be on the plane for Euro 2024?
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Will Kalvin Phillips make England's Euro 2024 squad? Latest odds on central midfielders
Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes arriving at City during the recent transfer window did not exactly improve Phillips' prospects of increased game time.
This will be something for Southgate to consider if the situation does not improve before next summer, but a relative lack of depth in defensive and central midfield positions offers some explanation as to why Phillips is still in the picture.
| To be in England's Euro 2024 squad (BetOnSports) | |
| Declan Rice (Arsenal) | 1/10 |
| Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) | 1/10 |
| Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City) | 1/1 |
| Jordan Henderson (Al Ettifaq) | 1/1 |
| James Ward-Prowse (West Ham) | 6/4 |
| Connor Gallagher (Chelsea) | 13/8 |
| Ruben Loftus-Cheek (AC Milan) | 7/1 |
| Angel Gomes (Lille) | 10/1 |
| Curtis Jones (Liverpool) | 12/1 |
| Tommy Doyle (Wolves) | 16/1 |
| Oliver Skipp (Tottenham) | 25/1 |
| Lewis Cook (Bournemouth) | 16/1 |
For the purposes of this exercise, we've tried to stick to the players who are most likely to give Southgate what he needs in central midfield. Foden, James Maddison and Eberechi Eze could all travel to Germany but are only likely to feature in the wide attacking roles or as an alternative to Bellingham at No.10.
Much like the embattled Harry Maguire at centre-back, Phillips is benefitting from a combination of previously fine performances under Southgate and a lack of depth in his position.
James Ward-Prowse has won 11 caps, was a headline signing for West Ham in the transfer window and also provides a significant set-piece threat. The former Southampton man should certainly come into the picture.
Everything else is harder to pin down. Southgate likes Conor Gallagher but Chelsea signing Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia means he could find himself scratching around in a similar manner to Phillips.
Jordan Henderson's move to Saudi Arabia could ultimately hasten his exit from the international stage. Can the likes of his former Liverpool teammate Curtis Jones or others from England's Euro Under-21 winners step up to give Southgate something extra to think about?
Ruben Loftus-Cheek was the coming man at the 2018 World Cup before a dreadful spell with injuries commenced. He's made a confident start to life at AC Milan but, given Southgate's resistance to Fikayo Tomori's displays for the Rossoneri, he might have his work cut out.
Nevertheless, unless Pep Guardiola has a massive change of heart, Phillips following Loftus-Cheek's lead and seeking a temporary move for regular football would be no bad thing — mainly because it would virtually guarantee his place at Euro 2024.
Why does Kalvin Phillips play for England?
Southgate's use of Foden was a topic of debate before the Scotland match, with a clamour for the City youngster to feature in the midfield three after a sometimes listless showing in the 1-1 draw with Ukraine.
Popular opinion pointed towards a Rice, Bellingham and Foden combination, with Henderson to be the odd man out from the starting XI in Wroclaw.
However, Southgate is noted for his conservative tendencies and pointed towards Foden's lack of game time in central midfield at club level. And so he lined up in the front three against Scotland, with Henderson replaced by Foden's City teammate Phillips.
As it happens, Phillips also doesn't play much in midfield for the Premier League and European champions, despite being a central midfielder, because he doesn't play much full stop.
The Scotland game was his fourth start for England since leaving Leeds United to join Guardiola’s team in summer 2022. He has made the same number of senior starts for City.
Fitness problems and a struggle to get to grips with Guardiola's specific demands have made life torrid for Phillips in Manchester, but Southgate still trusts a player who has rarely let him down.
Phillips and Rice played alongside one another on England's run to the Euro 2020 final and their reunion gave Bellingham the scope to torment Scotland, with the added benefit of defensive stability that would be lost if Foden dropped into a more withdrawn role.
