Gareth Southgate blames 31-game Manchester City midfielder’s absence for England’s struggles

England manager Gareth Southgate has sensationally identified the absence of Kalvin Phillips as a reason for his midfield woes.

The Three Lions were held to a 1-1 draw against Denmark in their European Championship Group C match in Frankfurt on Thursday night after Harry Kane’s opener was canceled out by Morten Hjulmand.

Manchester City trio Kyle Walker, John Stones and Phil Foden all started matchday two with fresh criticism directed at Gareth Southgate and his England side after another disappointing full-time performance.

England, who unconvincingly beat Serbia 1-0 in their European Championship opener on Sunday night, also suffered defeat to Iceland at Wembley Stadium ahead of the tournament.

Southgate made the surprise decision to leave Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford out of the England squad and dramatically dropped Jack Grealish and six other players just days before the Three Lions travel to Germany.

Kalvin Phillips, who has made just six starts for Manchester City since arriving from Leeds United for £42m in July 2022, has also been left out of the England set-up after another difficult campaign.

The 28-year-old made two starts and 10 appearances for Pep Guardiola’s side during the recent campaign, with Phillips moving to the London Stadium in January to spend the rest of the season with West Ham.

Phillips made 10 appearances for the Hammers in the Premier League and UEFA Europa League, but was forced to return to the Etihad Stadium before the end of his loan spell due to a gambling injury.

The midfielder was an unused substitute on 45 occasions for Manchester City but has won two Premier League titles and the UEFA Champions League since arriving at the Etihad Stadium at Elland Road.

Phillips has made 31 appearances for England and the 28-year-old’s absence from this summer’s tournament is one of the reasons for their midfield struggles, according to Southgate.

“We know we don’t have a natural replacement for Kalvin Philips. We’re trying different things and at the moment we’re not flowing the way we’d like,” said the England manager.

England conclude their Group C campaign next Tuesday against Slovenia at Cologne’s RheinEnergieStadion, with Southgate’s side needing a result to secure their place in the last 16.