BBC journalist worried Leeds star Phillips may not get picked for World Cup

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Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips was a stalwart of the England side which made it all the way to the final of Euro 2020 before losing on penalties.

Gareth Southgate flipped between 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 and 3-4-3, but Phillips was a constant presence alongside Declan Rice in the engine room.

Injury has kept Phillips out of Southgate’s latest squad, for the friendlies against Switzerland and the Ivory Coast.

Ordinarily in a World Cup year, the March friendlies would be more important, as the final chance to impress before the squad is named.

With a winter World Cup, this period is slightly less crucial, but journalist Rory Smith has shared concern about Phillips’ Qatar hopes on BBC’s Monday Night Club.

“The one who suffers I guess, and we’re talking about players who dipped, is Kalvin Phillips,” he said.

“He’s the one stalwart from the Euros team who you now look at, and because of injury rather than performance, you wonder if he won’t make the World Cup squad.

“That feels really harsh but I think that’s the reality of it.”

Phillips has played in just four of England’s eight games after Euro 2020, but Smith’s prognosis feels a little bit bleak.

It is true that Conor Gallagher has pushed himself into England contention and was man of the match against Switzerland.

But it would be a shock if Phillips completely slipped out of the squad by the winter, provided he can stay fit now.

Jude Bellingham is the one central midfielder Southgate needs to integrate, and it might be that Phillips is the man to miss out of the starting team by the time Qatar rolls around.

But will he really drop out of the squad altogether? It seems unlikely, with the likes of Gallagher and James Ward-Prowse likely more disposable to Southgate as it stands, if everyone is fit.