Jill Scott is our 'irreplaceable' marathon runner in England midfield, says Phil Neville

She is not England’s best player, but she could well be their most important as manager Phil Neville praised Jill Scott’s enduring ability to wreak havoc on opposition teams.

Scott did not win the player of the match award in the 2-1 win over Scotland, her work does not often grab headlines or spark applause, but it was the Manchester City’s midfielder’s tireless work in the middle of the pitch that set England on their way to victory.

Scott is a bulldozer of a player; smashing into things, knocking them down and clearing the path for others to play. England would not be the same team without her and at 32, in her fourth World Cup, her powers are showing no signs of diminishing.

“Jill was sensational,” said Neville when asked about her performance in Nice. “She has been for the last three games, Denmark, probably the best, Spain the player of the match, today up there with the best.

“She's irreplaceable. Her size, her quality, her energy up and down the pitch. In the first half, our game plan was about Jill getting up the pitch and robbing the opposition, which she did time and time again.

“She's a throwback to when players just go down injured and get up without moaning. She wins every tackle, wins every header.

“She slides. She's infectious. She has real quality. She's a coach for me on the pitch, she really is. She knows how to play the game. That's why she has got another two or three tournaments left with me [as a player].”

When England were beaten by Holland in the semi-finals of the European Championships, something was missing in their display and the something may well have been Scott, who missed out through suspension.

She is at constant risk of yellow cards because of her unflinching physicality and because she actively hunts players down in possession. It is exactly what Neville wants from her.

“She can play until she's 40,” he added. “Her and Lucy Bronze are the quickest on the bleep test and fitness tests that we do.

“She never misses a training session. If you ask her to drop out of one, she's goes mad at you. She's built like a marathon runner. That's why she's so fit. And 32 is a young age for a midfield player.

“Yes, there will be times when we have to rest her, but her energy levels are frightening. And in terms of her statistics, she's one of the best we have got.

“We had to suffocate Scotland in midfield and that's what we did. We have spent all week on pressing, pressing, pressing, high intensity and we did it really well.”

England were far too strong in the first half, but they faded in the heat, allowing Scotland to get back into the game. It is a concern and Neville admitted he had to learn from that too.

“The style of play probably did take a lot of them,” he explained. “That's a learning curve for us. About managing our energy through the game.

“When you start seeing players going down with cramp, that's pressure, that's tension. That's the lactic [acid] building up. That will be out of the system now. When we go to Le Havre, we will build up the training again.”