Gareth Southgate addresses privilege of wearing England badge as Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips makes Three Lions debut

ENGLAND boss Gareth Southgate said he was fortunate to hand Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips and Wolves defender Conor Coady their international debuts in addressing the responsibility and privilege of representing the Three Lions.

Phillips and Coady are both part of England's starting lineup for Tuesday night's Nations League clash against Denmark in Copenhagen which comes after Manchester City's Phil Foden and Manchester United's Mason Greenwood were both sent home for breaking coronavirus regulations.

Within 48 hours of making their Three Lions debut against Iceland, the Manchester City playmaker and Manchester United forward had to leave the camp after breaching the strict bio-bubble in Reykjavik.

Allegations emerged in the Icelandic media on Monday that Foden and Greenwood had spent time with two girls during the trip, with media outlet DV publishing purported footage filmed by one of them.

ENGLAND DEBUT: For Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips, four from left facing camera. Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images.placeholder image
ENGLAND DEBUT: For Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips, four from left facing camera. Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images.

Asked by Sky Sports if he had to address the issue with the rest of his squad in the build up to the clash against the Danes, Southgate said: "I was fortunate to hand two players their first England shirt today and we just talked a little bit about what the badge means, what the requirements are, how you've to leave that shirt in a better place than you've found it and they know the responsibility that comes with it but also the privilege of playing for your country.

"I am particularly pleased for Conor and Kalvin who have had a longer wait than a lot of the players we have capped in the past so it possibly means even more to them."

Reflecting on what it was like telling Phillips and Coady that they were making their debuts, Southgate said: "I think obviously once we started to work in training they had a feel of what we were looking at.

"We didn't need to talk too much about it, I don't need to build the game up in their minds, they are both more than capable of playing at this level and it's a case of giving them the belief that they can go and perform as they do every week for their clubs."

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Thank you Laura Collins

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