Tyrone Mings defended Everton goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford, and Manchester City defender, John Stones, following their ‘argument’ during England’s win against Croatia on Sunday, as he told his press conference.
Just before the first half, the duo seemingly had a disagreement when England were in possession of the ball in their own defensive third as the time was ticking towards the break.
In the end, all was well because the Three Lions not only secured a valuable three points, but they also kept the 2018 World Cup runners-up at bay.
Mings, who was playing at the heart of England’s defence next to Stones and in front of Pickford, had this to say about that heated moment.
“There’s no real right or wrong,” said Mings. “If you go long, pick up the second ball and we go and start an attack that way then everyone will say how great it is.
“But if you go long too often and keep surrounding possession to top-quality players then ultimately we will spend a lot of time not having the ball and they will punish us.
“There would have been a lot of conversations on the pitch that you probably didn’t hear and the disagreements that happen in the game.
“But, at the same time, it’s two players that both want to win and both are having to find solutions on the pitch. And to solve problems on the pitch as to what is best. Credit to them, we found a positive balance.”
It will be interesting if Mings maintains his place in England’s backline for the visit of Scotland on Friday because Harry Maguire might just return to action.
Given the Manchester United man is ahead of Mings in the defensive pecking order, the Villa man may find himself being dropped for the match even though he did nothing wrong against Croatia.
Either way, it’s going to be a big call from Gareth Southgate because if things go wrong then the blame will lay at his feet for picking an injured player who hasn’t played much of late.
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