‘I thought we’d blow them away’ – Kalvin Phillips speaks out about England loss to Italy and moment tide turned
KALVIN PHILLIPS has revealed he thought England would 'blow Italy away' in the Euro 2020 final after Luke Shaw's early goal.
The Three Lions left-back smashed the home heroes in front after just two minutes at Wembley.
In that moment, Phillips has revealed he genuinely believed England would be lifting their first-ever European Championship crown.
But Leonardo Bonucci equalised with a little over 20 minutes to play, before the Italians went on to win on penalties.
Such is the confidence of the current crop of England stars, Phillips told : "I thought, 'We’ll get three or four here, we’re gonna blow them away'.
"But then they started passing the ball and moving it from side to side...
"By half-time, I was like, 'Jesus Christ, these are good'."
Phillips remained on the Wembley turf to watch Italy celebration their Euro 2020 glory.
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And the Leeds ace revealed Gareth Southgate urged the squad to watch the painful scenes unfold as inspiration for future tournaments.
Phillips continued: "The manager said that he was proud of us, we’ve come a long way.
"He said it would hurt now but if we work as hard as we did during the Euros there is no reason why we can’t win something.
"He believes we can.
"But he told us to look at Italy celebrating, that is what it’s all about. So I did.
"I watched Italy lift the trophy and it made me feel like I want to be in that position."
'IS THIS REAL?'
Phillips became not only a national hero during the Euros, but also caught the eye of some legendary midfielders with his strong performances - even earning the nickname 'The Yorkshire Pirlo'.
And the Three Lions star has opened up about his whirlwind summer in humble manner.
Phillips claimed: "Every two seconds I was pinching myself and thinking, 'Is this real?'
"Every time I stepped out at Wembley. Every time we drove out of St George’s and had a two-mile queue of people.
"Driving to the final through London, every corner it was people clapping, waving, beeping their horns. It was crazy.
"Mesut Ozil put a message on Twitter... Michael Ballack and Nigel de Jong, too.
"For them to recognise me was very humbling. It felt weird. I 'liked' the [posts] all straight away.
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"But that first game made me feel I was worthy of being there.
"I was happy for myself but more happy that my family got to see it."
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