Mawson to give ’em yell
ALFIE MAWSON says England will turn up the volume against Germany – with some help from his mum.
The Swansea defender is one of the loudest voices in the Young Lions dressing room and belts out the national anthem with gusto. It’s something he learned from helping out on dad Gary’s fruit and veg stall, where he was still working just three years ago while playing non-League football for Maidenhead. But after mum Paula missed his first goal for England in their win over Slovakia here, Mawson plans to give her something else to shout about in ® from PAUL BROWN in Krakow today’s semi-final. The centreback, who was playing for Barnsley in League One just over a year ago, said: “I was speaking to them after the game and my mum couldn’t really see what was going on.
“When she found out I’d scored she let off a massive scream. I’m not surprised. I’m surprised I couldn’t hear her from the other side of the pitch, to be honest!
“That shows how proud they are. They will be here for the semi-final. Maybe it’s a sign I’ll get one now they’re here for the game again. We’ll see.”
Mawson, 23, says passion will be important against Germany – and nobody shows more of it than he does singing God Save the Queen.
Position
“I just feel like that’s a given,” he added. “Any player lucky enough to put on their national shirt should be singing the anthem with everything they’ve got. “I’m very proud to be in this position, to be playing in front of the fans and my mum and dad. “It means as much to me as it does to them. I love it. I love singing my national anthem. “That’s how I am. I’ve got this image of being a young leader and that’s what I want. “I want to be a player in five years that young players can come to and ask for advice. “That’s the image I want to give off. If I can instil that in people’s minds now, it will create better images when I get to be a captain one day.” Mawson is a late developer in England terms and only won his first Under-21 cap last November, a month after making his Premier League debut for Swansea.
But after playing a crucial role in the Swans’ survival fight and starring for Aidy Boothroyd’s boys in what he calls a “whirlwind season”, he is setting his sights high.
Mawson said: “Do I want to be England captain? 100 per cent.
“I want to be captain at club level and if that ever meant becoming a captain at national level that would be a dream come true.”
His rise to stardom has not gone unnoticed, with Tottenham the latest to be linked with a summer move for him.
But he insists his time working with his dad at Ealing market means it’s easy to stay grounded.
“The way I was brought up, I was always down there helping out when I was really little,” he said.
“I used to love it on a Saturday afternoon, but obviously my Saturday afternoons are a little bit busier now I’m playing in the Premier League.
“That work ethic is always going to help parachute you on to better things, but you have got to stay humble. People say it, and they say it for saying its sake.
“But you’ve got to live by that and do the right things.
“It’s been a dream come true playing for England, something I never thought would happen.
“I will take it in my stride, keep going and hopefully at the end of the week we’ve got another title.
“Germany have got a lot of quality. We just have to believe in our quality and I’m more than certain we’ve got enough to win the game.”