Mawson: England young guns can cope with the pressure

A new breed of England player is emerging with the “strength of character and the personality to overcome when we are up against the wall”, according to defender Alfie Mawson.

The under-21 international also highlighted the work of sports psychologist Rebecca Symes, who has been assigned to the squad at the European Championship in Poland. England, having turned around a goal deficit in their group game against Slovakia, now top Group A, and are favourites to reach the semi-finals next week.

“The pressure was there, we knew that before the game,” Mawson said, with England having drawn their opening group match against Sweden. “It was added to at 1-0 down [against Slovakia]. We just feel we have the strength of character and the personality to overcome when we are up against the wall. People might say the English can’t hack it, but we showed that there is a breed of players coming through, that we are progressing the right way.”

That may be a premature claim but, certainly, the way in which England responded in the secondhalf here in Kielce, with goals from Mawson, his first for his country, and Nathan Redmond, was encouraging and contrasted sharply with the way they – and the senior team – have crumbled under pressure in the tournament environment. If England get out of their group it will be the first time they have done so in four tournaments since 2009.

The Football Association has sent Symes with the squad to provide support to the players and coaching staff during difficult times in the tournament.

She runs a company called Sporting Success, and has worked with Lane 4 management, which already has a contract with the FA. Symes has previously been to the Paralympics, at London 2012 and Rio 2016, and spent nine years working at Surrey County Cricket Club.

With England having blown up in their last three Under-21s European finals, including two years ago when they finished bottom of their group with a squad that included

‘We could easily have crumbled when we went one down to Slovakia, but we stood up’

Harry Kane, Jesse Lingard and John Stones, the FA wants to try to ensure the team have the mental resilience to cope under pressure.

Mawson, the 23-year-old Swansea City defender, explained how the players had already benefited from working with Symes. “Different players take different things from her,” he said. “Personally, she said the other day, ‘Remember three things you do when you play well. When you’ve had a good game’.

“It depends on where you play. For me, it might be a block or a positioning thing. Centre-forwards could think of the way they have struck the ball for a goal, or a good run. Little things like that to creep into the back of your mind. You don’t over-think them; they are there subconsciously.

“Some of the lads have had little chats with her. She is a vibrant, positive soul and wants to pass on positivity, which is what we need. The little details, the percentages add up. It might be the media putting pressure on, and firing up off that. Little things to get a win. We could easily have crumbled when one down against Slovakia, but we stood up to it. We stuck to the task and passed with flying colours. We are together and we push on.”

Dealing with tournament pressure has become a theme through all the England age groups – a desire not to succumb to the “brittleness”, as FA chief executive Martin Glenn put it after England’s awful exit in Euro 2016 when they lost to Iceland, that seems to affect the senior team in particular.

England manager Gareth Southgate is acutely aware of this, and is exploring ways in which he can develop the mental strength of the players – hence the bonding weekend with the Royal Marines at the last get-together.

Mawson also revealed that things had got “heated” between the players at half-time against Slovakia before they achieved their 2-1 win. “We said we needed to man up and do the right thing,” he said, with the hope that the turnaround will now prove a turning point for England.

“Poland will be a big game and the atmosphere will be twice as hostile as that [against Slovakia],” Mawson said. “It is sold out. It is stuff you thrive off, and I can’t wait.”