MINGS PREPARED

TYRONE MINGS believes England will be ready if Scotland bombard them in the air as he prepares to battle to keep his place for Friday’s crunch clash.

The Aston Villa centre-back admits it is “bizarre” that he is being talked up to stay in Gareth Southgate’s side

– even if Manchester United skipper Harry Maguire is fit.

But he is ready to fight for his place after a starring role alongside John Stones in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Croatia.

“It is a little bit bizarre, bearing in mind how much credit in the bank Harry Maguire has got and what a fantastic defender he is,” said Mings (inset) yesterday when asked about calls for him to stay in the team.

“He is somebody I look up to as a centre-back, who is so consistent,

who has so much pressure on his shoulders being captain of Man United and being one of the main players for England.”

Scotland suffered an opening defeat by Czech Republic so need a result at Wembley to stand any chance of getting out of Group D.

But Mings said: “We will be well prepared for however they play.

“They have really good technicians in their team. They can go long if required, so, if anything, that makes them more difficult to predict.” Mings also hit back at Home Secretary Priti Patel, who criticised England players for taking the knee to show they are against racism.

He said: “We have our own set of beliefs and when you have such strong beliefs, there will be opposition to that.”