Aston Villa’s Tyrone Mings and Wolves’ Conor Coady have very much been on the periphery of Gareth Southgate’s side that face Italy in the final of Euro 2020 on Sunday night. But since joining up with the Three Lions earlier in June, the pair have built an unlikely friendship despite playing for rival clubs.
Tyrone Mings revealed: “I don’t know where it [the friendship] started really, I think we’re just very similar people. We have similar interests, play for similar clubs, we have similar personalities, we just buzz of each other. When you’re away with England, training is tough and it’s very intense when we’re working, so to have somebody you get along with and are close to off the pitch, it’s like a home from home.”
Conor Coady joked: “I’m the big brother. I look after him, I try and get him out of his room, he plays on Call of Duty too much. That’s something we need to work on, but it’s a good relationship.”
Conor Coady joked: “I’m the big brother. I look after him, I try and get him out of his room, he plays on Call of Duty too much. That’s something we need to work on, but it’s a good relationship.”Mings has featured only three times in the Three Lions’ route to the final, he played a total of 191 minutes in their group stages matches. He came in for the injured Harry Maguire as the tournament kicked off against Croatia almost a month ago. Once the Manchester United captain was deemed fit to play, Mings stepped aside as Southgate opted for a partnership of John Stones and Maguire. Coady is yet to get on the pitch and has been on the bench for all six of England’s games, but he was hailed as their ‘player of the tournament’ by assistant coach Steve Holland on the BBC’s Football Daily podcast.
Steve Holland said: “In the dressing room before the game, he speaks like he’s captain despite the fact he’s not been on the pitch yet. That’s incredibly difficult to do.”
Although the pair are unlikely to feature in Sunday’s final against Italy, their presence has been felt among the England camp as the Three Lions bid to end their 55 year wait for a major title.
