3/1 To Win
Midfielder Mason Mount has been creating all the right headlines recently and that continued in midweek with an assist and the winning goal for England Under-21s on his debut away to Latvia.
After firing in a fierce cross for Tammy Abraham to head home the equaliser, the 19-year-old netted the winner with less than 20 minutes of the game remaining.
He received the ball on the edge of the box and confidently found the bottom corner to secure a 2-1 victory for the young Three Lions.
That win ensured England took a step closer to qualification for the Under-21 Euro Championships.
“It was a tough game, the pitch wasn’t the best and they made it hard for us. They were tough to break down,” Mount told RamsTV. “Getting that assist in the first half gave me confidence going into the second half. When I got the ball in the box, nothing really come into my head other than shoot and it went in so I was very happy with that.
“I’ve always wanted to play for my country and it’s a proud moment when you put that shirt on.”
It was the first time Mount has been called into Aidy Boothroyd’s Under-21 side. “Getting called up to the Under-21s is a massive honour and a proud moment for me and my family,” he admitted. “It is one step closer to the seniors and that’s where your goal has to be and it’s where I want to be.
“I think throughout the ages with England they try not to change much so when you move up to a different age, it doesn’t really change.
“You still play the same, it’s still the same in the meetings so off the pitch it doesn’t change but the feel of being with the Under-21s is different. You feel like you are closer to the seniors.”
The midfielder found himself on the bench for England’s game against the Netherlands last week as they drew 0-0, but he certainly took his opportunity when it was presented against Latvia.
He added: “You want to get on and play but I understood as it was my first game and it is down to the manager about what he chooses. Going into the second game, it gave me a bit more fire to prove what I can do going into the game and it went well.”
Following the game, Mount’s first phone call was to his parents who unfortunately could not fly out to watch him.
“I don’t even think the game was on TV so they were gutted they couldn’t watch it and missed it,” he commented. “I think they followed it on Twitter. My Dad was at work so when my Mum saw that I had scored, she was straight onto the phone to my Dad screaming that I had scored so that was nice to hear.”
When Mount opened Twitter on Tuesday, he would have seen a barrage of praise for the youngster, however, he is keen to remain grounded and continue to help Derby County reach its goals.
“I’ve not tried to look at it much,” he admitted. “In my head I wanted to get straight back to Derby and train again. The momentum we built before the international break, I wanted to build that again and I wanted to get back in training. I don’t worry about everything that is off the pitch and in the media, that doesn’t bother me. The team has the same goal moving forward and you need to focus on that.
“The games coming up are important games and we need to win. For us, we need to keep that momentum going and for myself I need to focusing, get as many goals and impact the game as much as I can.”
