Mason Mount says the England squad is like a "family" and have set up a WhatsApp group to keep in touch when they return to their clubs, highlighting their unity in wake of the Raheem Sterling-Joe Gomez incident.
The build-up to the Three Lions’ final Euro 2020 qualifiers was dominated by Sterling’s bust-up with Gomez at the start of last week, resulting in the Manchester City forward being dropped for the 7-0 win against Montenegro on Thursday.
Sterling quickly apologised for the incident and returned to the side for Sunday’s 4-0 victory in Kosovo, with manager Gareth Southgate considering the matter closed.
Gomez missed the Kosovo game with a minor knee injury suffered in training, with the squad having rallied round the Liverpool defender after he was booed by a section of England fans after coming on as a substitute against Montenegro.
That latest example of squad unity suggests this current crop of players are not suffering from divisions caused by intense club rivalries, something which hampered the so-called ‘Golden Generation’ at the start of the decade.
Chelsea midfielder Mount goes even further, saying his teammates are like a “family” and remain united despite last weekend’s events.
“We go back to our clubs and we’re all going to be playing against each other, but we have a WhatsApp group, so we’re always talking to each other,” he told reporters via the Standard. “It shows how close we are. It’s like a family. We always keep in contact.
“You obviously see what everyone else is doing within the Premier League at their clubs. It’s going to get heated in club games because they’re massive games, but we’re very tight as a group — and that’s shown in the last two performances. Things get sorted out very quickly, like they did [last week], and then we focus on the games. It was very strong performances in both games.
“The two games have been very professional performances. To finish with a big win is good and now there’s a big break until the next camp. It’s been a great qualification, we’ve got some big wins under our belt. The focus is on March and hopefully it’s a very exciting summer.”