Yesterday, England boss Gareth Southgate said that the door was open for players not currently in his thinking to state a case for their place at the postponed Euro Championships.
Southgate, in speaking to The Independent said that a core of “30-35 who have been in and around the squad” would be in consideration. He then continued by adding specifics and naming two Leeds United players. On this Southgate said:
“We’ve talked about those two (Mason Greenwood and Phil Foden), but it could be a Ben White, who has been on loan at Leeds, or a Kalvin Phillips that haven’t played Premier League football yet. Those sorts of players could come into the frame. We’re always open to what it looks like.”
This comment from Southgate and the subsequent retweeting of it by media, reporters and Twitter accounts led to many Leeds fans agreeing that Phillips should be an England player.
It also reignited the debate of how he’d fit with many saying that he’s better than current England midfielder Declan Rice. Of course, you are always going to get pelters aimed from both sides backing their favourite. But, how do the two compare?
Kalvin Phillips vs Declan Rice – per 90 min contributions
The above is a player radar of Declan Rice’s per 90 min output (red) in the Premier League overlaid with Kalvin Phillips’ per 90 min output (yellow) in the Championship. Looking at their output on a per 90 min basis gives a typical expectation of what each player is expected to achieve over the course of a typical game.
Rice is better than Phillips?
When you look at the stats, Declan Rice (86.2%) is a more accurate passer of the ball than Kalvin Phillips (81.6%). However, you do need to consider this against the volume of passes they make during a typical 90 minutes: Rice (45) and Phillips (56.4). What further complicates this is that Leeds United are in possession of the ball more, therefore have more opportunities to pass the ball.
Rice (1.2) is also a more successful dribbler of the ball than Phillips (0.5) per 90 minutes and is also marginally tighter on the ball. The West Ham midfielder only loses the ball 0.6 times per 90 minutes compared to 0.7 times by Phillips. Rice (1) also commits less fouls that Kalvin Phillips (1.4).
The final area where Rice is tidier that Phillips, again only marginally, is the number of times they are beaten by an opponent. For Rice, this is 1.5 times per 90 minutes compared to Phillips’ 1.6 times beaten. What complicates this is that Kalvin Phillips, despite Leeds being in possession more than West Ham, commits to more tackles.
Phillips better than Rice?
When it comes to passing, Rice might be more accurate than his Leeds United counterpart but Kalvin Phillips passes at a greater volume thanks to Leeds United’s dominance of possession. Phillips (46) completes more passes than Rice (38.8) over a typical game.
On the radar (above) you can also see that Kalvin Phillips (2) creates more chances with key passes than does Declan Rice (0.4). A lot of this has to do with Kalvin Phillips range of passing and his long-ball accuracy (5.4) over Rice’s (3) accurate long balls to teammates.
The final part where Kalvin Phillips is dominant is his defensive duties, breaking up opposition play. He has more tackles (4.3) than Rice (2.3) per 90 when adjusted for opponent time in possession. This is the same regarding interceptions of an opponent’s ball where Phillips (1.9) again wins out over Rice (1.6).
Rice or Phillips for England?
It’s a difficult one. Of course, you have the matter of levels of competition to look at when comparing Rice’s time in the Premier League to Phillips’ dominance in the Championship. That’s always going to come into play – the level of player and play is bound to be different.
However, performances don’t lie and Kalvin Phillips has been the dominant defensive midfield player in the Championship this season so far. On that point alone, you could say that he deserves a chance to prove himself at England level – Premier League or not.
You also need to take into account that Phillips is coached by one of the world’s greatest football brains in Marcelo Bielsa.
Is Phillips better than Rice? Yes, he is – in certain areas of his game. Does he deserve to take Rice’s England place? Probably not, not on the balance of things? Should Kalvin Phillips get a chance to show what he can do for England? Yes, he should.
