Former Premier League footballer Shaun Derry feels that Mason Mount was not at his best in his full international debut for England in the defeat to Czech Republic on Friday evening.
Mount, who had made substitute appearances in the wins over Bulgaria and Kosovo in September, was included from the start in Prague as England fell to a 2-1 defeat.
Derry, who enjoyed top-flight spells with Crystal Palace and Queens Park Rangers, felt Mount’s performance was a far cry from what he has shown so far this season under Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge, where he has netted four times in his eight Premier League appearances this season.
Speaking on TalkSPORT, the Oxford United assistant boss felt England’s midfield as a whole was under-par – but highlighted Mount’s performance in particular as he pondered whether Gareth Southgate was at fault.
He said (via the Daily Express): “I felt we were very flat as a midfield pairing.
“I didn’t really feel that we quite saw what the Mason Mount player is for England.
“He didn’t seem recognisable to what we’ve been witnessing for Chelsea this year.
“I don’t know if [Southgate] put him in the wrong position or it was the wrong game to play him, but I just think we got our balance completely wrong last night.”
Derry may not be alone in thinking Mount was not his usual self, with WhoScored giving the 20-year-old a match rating of 6.4/10 – which ranks as his second-lowest rating this season, only beating his score against Liverpool where he was awarded a 5.85.
Mount’s performance was arguably relatively upstaged by teammate Ross Barkley, who replaced the youngster to record a higher pass accuracy rate, one key pass (to Mount’s two) and a marginally higher match rating in just 19 minutes of action.
He also nearly set up Harry Kane for his second of the evening, only for the Spurs man to be thwarted by the Czech goalkeeper.
So given Mount’s previous performances this season, it seems that the midfielder suffered from a little bit of stage fright as England came undone on a disappointing night on the continent.
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