Tyrone Mings feels "on trial" with England and makes Harry Maguire Man Utd form claim

Tyrone Mings believes he is now better equipped to deal with the pressures of a major tournament - and spoken about England defensive partner Harry Maguire's recent struggles on the pitch.

Last year, the Aston Villa defender admitted he suffered with his mental health heading into Euro 2020, thinking about how fans and pundits might question his place in an England team. But Mings, who started the first two games of the Euros, says he is now “in a better place” when it comes to coping with the psychological demands of performing for England on the biggest stages.

He said: “I’ve never questioned myself belonging but what I meant by my comments about how I felt pre-Euros was that there were a lot of unknowns about me in terms of ex-players and pundits and general fans.

“There was a little bit of ‘we don’t know what he can do in a major tournament, we don’t know what he can do in a big match for England’. There were all those questions I had to answer in terms of what people expected from me or didn’t expect from me. Going into this World Cup is different - in terms of climate, teams you play against, and this one won’t be a home tournament.

“Many things will be different in Qatar but how I feel at the moment and how I feel in terms of coming through Euro 2020, the experience that gave me, I certainly feel in a better place to deal with that now.” Mings - who will line up against the Ivory Coast at Wembley - not only coped with the Euro 2020, he was a fine performer in the 1-0 win over Croatia and the goalless draw with Scotland. In fact, in the 16 international matches in which the Villa skipper has taken part, England have kept 13 clean sheets.

Yet he believes Southgate was right to recall a fit-again Maguire after those