“I haven’t seen anything that’s topped that” – Raheem Sterling reveals how Mason Mount stunned teammates as England prepare for FIFA World Cup opener
Ahead of England's 2022 FIFA World Cup opener on Monday (21 November), Raheem Sterling has revealed how Mason Mount impressed him with a spectacular performance in training.
Mount's first training session with England's senior squad came after the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, when he was on loan at Derby County. Sterling recalled that it was his national side's first training camp following that year's edition of the global event.
Ten years ago to the day, I made my debut for @england; something I’d dreamed about since I was a boy staring up at those Wembley arches. Now here I am heading into my third World Cup, and now it’s me holding the most caps... reality really can be crazier than dreams sometimes 🤯 https://t.co/fbCbCa1i7k
The former Manchester City star claims it was the best training performance he's ever seen from a player. Sterling said (via Football.london):
"Best training performance I've seen to this day. Every time we speak with him [Mount] after the game or something, we say to him it was the best training performance. He joined up with the seniors, he came up from the Under-21s and just came, from Derby at the time, and I'm not exaggerating, left foot, right foot, dribbling, chopping."
Praising his domestic and international teammate, Sterling added:
"It was the best training performance I've seen to this day. I haven't seen anything that's topped that. He's just come into our training session, I'm here, it was the first camp after we came back from the Russia World Cup and he's come up with something incredible. It was top, top."
England are set to face Iran in their FIFA World Cup opener on Monday. As per the aforementioned Football.london report, Mount is set to start for the Three Lions in the encounter along with Sterling.
Mason Mount recalls first training session with England senior squad following 2018 FIFA World Cup
Prior to Sterling's flattering remarks about Mount, the midfielder himself opened up about his training session with the England senior team.
In an interview with England's official YouTube channel, he said (via the aforementioned report):
"I can't really remember too much about training, it was literally a blur. I've walked in and seen all the senior players, Harry Kane, it was probably overwhelming at first and I just wanted to get onto the pitch to show what I can do and be confident, which I felt like it was. "
In fact, it was Mount who told the media to ask his teammate Sterling about his impressive training session. He added:
"I remember Raz [Sterling], he came up to me and said, 'Your training is unbelievable,' and he's got a story about me training for the first time, ask him about that."
Sterling's comments about Mount's session came shortly after the English midfielder's interview.
🗣️Jamie Carragher
"Every manager picks Mason Mount, Chelsea or England, he’s a clever footballer who understands the other side of the game and I think he can do a job and make sure England don’t get counter-attacked on." [Sky Sports]
#CFC 🔵 https://t.co/VlEt4Dacmn
Mount has been fairly poor in the Premier League for Chelsea this season. The English midfielder has only managed to score two goals in 14 league appearances. He will look to turn things around while representing England in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.