“My Mental Health Did Plummet”-Tyrone Mings on Being the Doubted Pick of the England Euro 2020 Squad

Mental health is a huge part of any person’s life, and more and more athletes are speaking up about it in recent times. It is a welcome change as it helps people understand the importance of their mental well-being, and Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings is the latest to speak about it.

Mings played for England in their opening games for UEFA Euros 2020. However, his selection was not a given as there were several options manager Gareth Southgate could choose from. Mings spoke to the Sun and told them about his experiences with criticism from social media.

“I did have a tough time in the lead-up to the opening game against Croatia. I think I’m a lot more hardened to outside influences now, but my mental health did plummet. And I have no shame in admitting that because there were so many unknowns about me going to that game,” Mings said.

He also talked about the fact that he was the only player whose spot was under the microscope. It was true as Mings was starting in place of Manchester United’s Harry Maguire, who was battling an injury during the first two matches. However, Maguire recovered after that and helped England reach the final of the tournament.

“I was probably the only name on the teamsheet that people thought: ‘Not sure about him.’ And that was something I had to overcome. When 90-95% of your country are having doubts over you, it’s very difficult to stop this intruding on your own thoughts,” Mings revealed.

England kept two clean sheets in the two games that he played.

Tyrone Mings revealed that he did a lot of work on his thoughts with his psychologist.

Mings also revealed that he did several exercises with his psychologist ahead of the match against Croatia. However, it all worked out for him in the end as fans praised him for his performances, and he was generally solid throughout the 180 minutes he played.

“So I did a lot of work on that with my psychologist. I was given a lot of coping mechanisms – whether it was breathing, meditation, or just learning how to bring yourself into the present moment. To stop letting your subconscious take over. It was hard. I didn’t really sleep very well before that first game,” Mings said.

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