Mason Mount and Peter Crouch have reflected on their respective England careers at a time when the pair are joining forces for charity. The duo are teaming up with eBay to hold a football memorabilia raffle, where they’ll be giving fans a chance to get their hands on some of their iconic items. All proceeds will go to their respective chosen charities, Together for Short Lives and Rays of Sunshine – both of which support seriously ill children across the UK.
Mount and Crouch are very much at two different stages of their respective careers.
The former is hoping to propel England to World Cup glory in Qatar this winter, with the Chelsea star set to use the heartache of missing out on Euro 2020 glory last summer as extra motivation.
Crouch, meanwhile, retired back in 2019 and is poised to be watching on in support. He scored an impressive 22 goals from 42 games for his country during his playing days, featuring in two major tournaments as well.
England last won a trophy back in 1966, when Sir Bobby Moore was captain, black and white televisions were the norm and NASA launched its first-ever US spacecraft to orbit the moon.
And Mount has admitted the pain of last summer still haunts him as he looks to fire his country to the ultimate prize.
Speaking to Express Sport, the Chelsea star said: “Yeah, I mean, you think about I think by a lot but it motivates you even more to want to go that extra step now.
“And I think if you look at the journey we’ve been on over the last few years, we’ve been getting better and better leading up to a World Cup.
“I think for me if you’re if you’re in good form, if you’re not in good form, it doesn’t really matter because anything can happen in a major tournament.
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“So we can’t wait for it. Obviously, we as I said, we want to go that extra step and hopefully we can do that and make the nation proud.”
For Crouch, however, his time has passed him by. Yet he doesn’t regret anything and insists he’s still delighted at what he achieved.
“You know, I always look back on my career really fondly. I feel like really proud and privileged to have ever played for England,” he said.
“Of course like we had a team that was good enough to win a trophy and we didn’t manage to do it.
“But I still feel very proud to have represented our country at two World Cups and although they didn’t go as well as planned, for me personally is still a great achievement.
“I didn’t know whether I’d have a career in football let alone play at a World Cup so when I look back on it, I look back on it with a big, big smile.”
Of course, England going all the way won’t be easy.
Argentina and Portugal will be among the favourites, with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo approaching the twilight years of their careers with a point to prove.
Teams such as Brazil, Germany, Spain, France and the Netherlands could prove problematic, too.
But Mount believes England will have to beat the best to be the best – and insists that isn’t a problem as the tournament creeps closer.
“I mean, a lot of the nations are very, very good teams, and they’ve been playing very well recently,” said the Chelsea star.
“So I mean, if you get a team that’s on good form, you have to beat the top teams to get right to the end.
“And so I think in tournament football, you have to expect that you’re going to get a tough ride you have to firstly, do well in the group that first game is so important.
“And then hopefully, if you do get through the group, then you look at the pathway to the final. You’ve got to set goals, but never look too far ahead.”
Crouch, meanwhile, thinks there’s no overwhelming favourite for the trophy – but did admit Brazil have looked good prior to the tournament getting started.
“I don’t think there is a strong clear favourite this year,” stated the former Liverpool, Tottenham and Portsmouth marksman.
“I think you know France are probably the best pedigree, the best team, but I look at Brazil and they look like an incredible team as well.
“You know so many top players have got in their squad, you know they’ll always be there or thereabouts.
“Portugal are better and England have a chance but I don’t think there’s any real clear favourites this year.
“Argentina with Messi as well, obviously probably be his last major tournament so it’s another one that could potentially go that way.”
Among the items Mount is donating to the eBay raffle is a football he played with during lockdown.
It was a difficult time for everybody, something the Chelsea star acknowledges, and he’s now reflected on what he did behind the scenes to help pass the time.
“It was tough. Obviously, not just for me as a sportsman but for everybody not being able to see your families,” he said.
“So for me, I was just trying to stay active do as much as I can as I’m not training every day.
“That meant doing the bike sessions or going out in the garden having a kick about. I managed to get a goal delivered and I put it up and put it in my garden just during lockdown to just shoot because I missed it.”
Mount is also donating a Chelsea shirt won in the FA Cup final against Liverpool earlier in the year, boots he donned during last summer’s Euros and the red away shirt sported in England’s 3-3 draw with Germany in September.
As for Crouch, he’s raffling off items such as an England shirt worn at the 2006 World Cup, a Liverpool jersey and champagne he received for scoring a hat-trick against Arsenal in 2007.
He explained: “I feel like I need to be able to keep a few behind to show the kids but I’ve got I’ve got a few and that was a special game for me.
“Like, that was a good chance to talk about something for charity and for a good cause, I wouldn’t just give it away.
“Obviously I feel like I’m helping with that and then yeah, there’s a few bits and pieces. I’m giving quite a lot away.”
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