12 Jul 2021 12:13:44
KP is Stan Collymore's England player of the tournament and once again gets rave reviews from pundits:
Daily Mail 8/ 10
England's very own Duracell bunny. He has not stopped running since kick-off against Croatia on June 13. Every blade of grass covered, every sinew in his body strained. And to think he has just one season of Premier League football under his belt. Immense.
Daily Mirror - 6/ 10
Never wasted a pass. Covered every blade of grass to force the Italians backwards. A player who has grown in stature during the tournament
Daily Express - 7/ 10
Held centre ground and gave Rice licence to roam. Effective with his distribution. Real workhorse.
Daily Telegraph - 8/ 10
A revelation, midfield spoiler and protector of the back-three. Has an inbuilt radar for sniffing out danger. Was playing in the Championship 18 months ago yet has assumed the appearance of a veteran
Guardian - 8/ 10
Tireless in keeping Italy’s threat at arm’s length. Unable to stretch them with his passing but stifled them physically.
The i - 7/ 10
The England player to have enhanced his reputation the most during this tournament delivered another assured display.
The Independent - 7/ 10
Not quite as omnipresent as Rice but as tenacious in the tackle and relentless in his pressing as we have come to expect during this tournament.
The Times - 7/ 10
Another notch on his belt in a remarkable tournament where he has established a regular position in midfield. He has been incredibly consistent, barely putting a foot wrong in the middle of the pitch.
The Sun - 8/ 10
The Leeds ace went toe-to-toe with the Italy midfield and gave everything. Shame it meant nothing in the end.
Daily Star - 6/ 10
On it from off, giving Italian midfield trio no peace and quiet. But outnumbered later on.
12 Jul 2021 12:29:16
As stated further down KP naturally very good in the press but the past 3 games especially he ( albeit understandably for a new player to international football) looked ( very) nervous, many times not offering himself as an option to pass to and passing mostly safe backward passes to defenders. Maybe that is down to Southgate?
Amyway I am excited and look forward to seeing the more impressive, more confident and far more progressive KP again under El Magico Bielsa who is wholly responsible for the progressive transformation of KP.
12 Jul 2021 14:30:03
I agree Baz thought Phillips was good in tournament just not great. I also thought he looked much better in games where Rice was taken off.
12 Jul 2021 15:11:44
Agreed Corky each time Rice went off KP then looked better as he was then playing deeper CDM
as opposed to a sort of more forward CM when Rice is playing.
12 Jul 2021 20:39:06
Jesus Baz me and your good self agreeing!
13 Jul 2021 12:28:46
Personally, and clearly biased, I thought he was our stand out player of the tournament.