Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings: England made a dream start

Villa star Mings impressed at the back as Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions beat Croatia 1-0 at Wembley, with Raheem Sterling grabbing the winner.

Stourbridge-born Jude Bellingham, at 17, also became the youngest player to ever feature in the Euros as he came on as a late substitute for Harry Kane on a successful afternoon.

And the composed Mings, who got the nod in the absence of Harry Maguire, said: “It’s a dream come true to play in a major tournament for England. I loved every second of it.

“It was probably the hottest game I’ve played in, but the team showed a lot of grit, determination and quality at times as well.

“We’re over the moon with the start. They’re a top team as we’ve seen before, so it was important for us to repel their threats and deal with whatever they threw at us.

“But equally, we always have quality to trouble teams as well.”

Leeds’ Kalvin Phillips caught the eye in midfield, setting up Sterling.

Villa captain Jack Grealish had to make do with a place on the bench, as did Wolves skipper Conor Coady.

“Kalvin put in a lot of good work, and then obviously Raz has got the quality in front of goal as he’s showed many times,” said Mings. “We wanted a second, but it was important as a defender and as a team that wants to be hard to beat that we were resilient and got the clean sheet.

“We felt composed and felt we were in good shape. The back four is only as good as the players in front giving protection, too, so full credit to the whole team.

“The players who came on were brilliant and gave us a new lease of life as well, some energy. That’s what is going to be important for us, utilising the whole squad.”

Mings will hope to have done enough to keep his place for upcoming Scotland clash.

“The lads are fully focused on that game and it’s going to be one hell of an occasion,” he said. “We know what’s coming and what threats Scotland have, so it’s important to focus on the game and not the occasion.”

Former Villa defender Southgate added on the performance: “Some young players, some inexperienced international players, a big occasion – not only a tough opponent but a big occasion, a sweltering hot day.

“Every reason to potentially look nervous at the start but they didn’t.

“With and without the ball they were composed, carried out what we wanted to do in terms of pressing brilliantly.

“Although it was always going to be a game of few clear chances, I thought we looked the bigger threat throughout.”