Kal's beloved Granny Val is smiling down on him from Heaven

You have to have a foundation, a sound footing in this world. Whatever you do in life, you need people to support you and motivate you when you think nothing will go your way. For the lucky ones, the strength to carry on comes from their family. England midfielder Kalvin Phillips would always turn to his grandmother Valerie Crosby, the woman everyone affectionally called Granny Val.

It's wasn't an easy growing up for the Leeds-born Phillips – and even though his performances for England felt like something from a Hollywood film – his past was anything but a fairy-tale. But on every step of the way, he could count on his grandmother to be by his side. She would come to watch him in training when he was a boy, making sure she attended every match possible.

But earlier his year, Kalvin had lost his Granny Val.

After a short illness, she died at the age of 82. And everything Phillips has done since then — through the final weeks of the season at Leeds and now on European Championship duty for his country — has been for Granny Val and his sister Lacreasha, who died in infancy. He has a tattoo on his arm which symbolises Lacreasha. Before matches, he kisses the tattoo and points to the sky.

Leeds players paying a tribute to Granny Val (©AFP)

Kalvin was praised for his all-action display in the impressive win over Croatia. Leeds United fans simply adore him for his outstanding performances under the Argentinean manager Marcelo Bielsa. The 25-year-old is a star for his country and an established Premier League player. But not everything in his life had always gone right.

Kalvin's father is currently in prison, barely a five-minute walk from Leeds' training ground.

"In prison, out of prison. My father got into the wrong crowd: drugs, fighting, anything you can name. I've been to see him a few times, but I don't like going in there and seeing him in prison. I'd rather speak over the phone. So I speak to him every couple of weeks."

Life with a troublesome father was far from easy, and it put so much pressure on Kalvin's mother and Granny Val. His mother worked in two different jobs, one of them at a pizza shop, to make enough money to ensure there was food on the table for Phillips, his brother and his two sisters — though often she would go hungry and would sleep on the sofa at their house to ensure the children each had a bed.

With Kalvin's mother working so hard, Granny Val would end up having to take some of the strain. Also, she didn't mind using strong words to sort Kalvin out if she needed to. The boy needed direction in life – and thankfully – he's gotten it.

Reminiscing over his grandmother and her support for him and his football career, Phillips showed just how big of an impact she's had in his growing up.

"She always listened to it on the radio and then would call me five or six times after the game, ask if I'm alright, ask how I played, if I did something wrong. She'd always ring me up every single day just to make sure how I am. She was very caring, often very nosey, but a lovely, lovely woman."

England legend Ian Wright tweeted after the Croatia match that "Granny Val must be watching down with the biggest smile". Indeed, she must be. Her grandson Kalvin has turned out alright.