England 1-0 Croatia: 'Southgate got big calls exactly right'
He trusted to his instincts to play two more defensively-minded midfielders in Declan Rice and the outstanding Kalvin Phillips, while providing an element of risk by ignoring the impressive claims of Chelsea's Champions League winner Ben Chilwell and Luke Shaw of Manchester United to play Kieran Trippier at left-back.
Those hopes are borne out by the statistic that, after a disappointingly toothless Croatia were seen off, England are now unbeaten at home in 12 games at major tournaments .If Southgate was taking a risk - although some initially accused him of conservatism - he can point to the result and performances of those he picked as proof of his wisdom.
Rice is a fixture in this England side but arguably the most impressive show of all came from Phillips. "The Yorkshire Pirlo" was England's outstanding performer, giving a complete midfield performance which he almost garnished with a goal. It must also be taken into account that Croatia carried an air of spent force about them - certainly not the side that was so menacing and snuffed out England's World Cup aspirations at the semi-final stage in Moscow in 2018.
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