Team work time

Conor Coady might not have had the playing time he was hoping for this summer but his overall contribution to the squad hasn’t gone unnoticed. 

Assistant manager Steve Holland recently picked the Wolverhampton Wanderers defender as his player of the tournament for his tireless hard work and dressing room influence. 

Coady is one of a handful of players in the squad that regularly captains their club sides having been named full-time skipper on Wolves’ return to the Premier League in 2018. 

And the 28 year old is equally appreciative of Holland and the staff, as they are of him. 

“I mentioned before about everyone being together here and that includes that staff as well,” said Coady on Friday’s episode of Lions’ Den. 

“This place is filled with incredible people and it’s really nice to see that [Steve Holland’s comments about him] because I think my role here has been slightly different. 

“We all want the same thing to happen at the end of it though whether you’re playing or you’re not. 

“So to see something like that from someone like him, who has done so much in the game, he’s an incredible football coach. When we come and play for our national team you give everything, that’s just part of the job.”

Joining Coady on the show was Tyrone Mings, who has played a key role in the team’s route to the final by filling in for the injured Harry Maguire in the first two games. 

And he didn’t look out of place for a second, keeping back-to-back clean sheets as England secured their spot in the knockout rounds with a game to spare. 

Since then he’s been waiting in the wings if needed and, just like Coady, has been a presence for Southgate and his staff both in training and in the dressing room. 

“It was a dream come true to play for England in the opening game of a major tournament is something that will live with me for a very long time,” said Mings. “It makes me and my family very proud. 

“Then Harry came back in. And he’s someone I look up to because he’s someone I think is among the best in the world in his position. And the things he deals with off the pitch too with being Manchester United captain and a big presence here. 

“If you have to play, you’re ready. And if you’re sitting on the bench, that’s something you have to get your head around. But you still want to win so we have to try and give our all in training to give them competition.

“That’s where our success has come from; everything you don’t see. I think that’s been a huge part of why we’ve had so much success so far.”

The togetherness of the squad is something that has been very well documented during EURO 2020 and has clearly been a major factor in England’s success as they face a first major final in 55 years against Italy on Sunday night.