England star Beth Mead always stood out to her former coach Andy Cook

Beth Mead’s former coach Andy Cook hailed the “standout” star as England prepare to go for glory in the Euro 2022 final against Germany on Sunday.

Now manager at Nottingham Forest’s women’s side, Cook coached the England and Arsenal winger during her six years at Middlesbrough’s Centre of Excellence, before she secured a move to Sunderland in 2011.

After beating Sweden 4-0 in the semi-finals, the chance of an inaugural Euro victory is at stake for England when they face eight-time European champions Germany at Wembley.

Mead has been a pivotal part of Sarina Wiegman’s squad since the Dutchwoman took over in September 2021 and has continued to shine at this summer’s tournament, scoring six goals and providing five assists so far, but her success comes as no surprise to Cook.

“She was standout, she was a standout player then in the under-14s, she was one of the older players in terms of the second year in that age group, but she was one of the standout players,” Cook told the PA news agency.

“It was a case of trying to set the environment up so she could kind of excel really, you’ve got a group of 16 players, two goalkeepers, 14 outfield players, and ultimately you’re having to stretch and challenge Beth, while also making sure that those who maybe aren’t at her level are also getting a right challenge as well.

“A lot of the work was obviously trying to extend Beth’s quality while also helping everybody else out.”

The winger spent six years on Wearside before swapping the north east for north London with a move to Arsenal in 2017 and has cemented herself as a key goalscorer and assist-maker with the Gunners.

Last season in the Women’s Super League, Mead scored 11 goals and provided eight assists, and her talent has always