Ashley Cole believes England boss Gareth Southgate should still recall Mason Mount for the last-16 tie which is due to take place at Wembley next Tuesday.
With Phil Foden having been rested before the game and Mount ruled out due to having to self isolate as part of covid protocols, Southgate had to tinker with his team for the group stage finale which produced arguably England’s best attacking display of the tournament so far.
Raheem Sterling scored the only goal at Wembley following a move where Jack Grealish and Bukayo Saka – both making their first starts of the tournament – combined on an impressive night for the trio as England topped Group D.
Saka picked up the man of the match award following his first appearance for England at a major tournament but Cole claims Mount will be crucial to a pressing game which could be needed should they come to face Germany in the knock-out stages.
‘Gareth mentioned about Mason being ready, I would still play him,’ the former England left-back said.
‘He presses, he’s aggressive, he wins you the ball back. It’s difficult to drop top players and I think he’s proved it for Chelsea and been very important for this England team in winning the ball.
‘He gives a licence to [Kalvin] Phillips to back him up and get on it. He’s proven his worth, if you play a team like Germany you have to press.’
However, ex-England winger Andros Townsend believes Mount won’t have enough preparation time coming out of self-isolation to be ready for a potential tie with Germany, to which Cole disagreed.
Townsend said: ‘Under normal circumstances I would say Mason Mount would be first name on the team sheet but if you’re playing a team like Germany you need to be doing at least two or three days of prep work going through it. If Mount can’t be a part of that…’
Cole replied: ‘I still would go with the players I trust. I would still play him.’
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