By Dom Toner

'Selfless work-rate': Pat Nevin really impressed by 23-year-old Chelsea star's display for his country

Pat Nevin thinks Chelsea’s Mason Mount was brilliant for England in their World Cup opener against Iran on Monday.

England, who are among the favourites to win the World Cup in Qatar, kickstarted their tournament earlier this week by thrashing Iran 6-2 in Doha.

There’s certainly a lot of Chelsea interest in how the Three Lions fare this winter in the major international competition.

Mount, along with Raheem Sterling, both started for England a couple of days ago.

Mount couldn’t get himself a goal or assist as his nation knocked six past Iran, but showed plenty of quality as the most advanced member of a midfield trio.

The 23-year-old attacking midfielder was trusted to start ahead of some in-form England teammates, so it goes to show how highly Gareth Southgate rates him.

Mason Mount against Iran

Nevin singled out Chelsea’s No.19 for his individual performance on the World Cup stage.

“I do wish Mason Mount could have got among the goals as well, but once again his selfless work-rate made lots of space for his team-mates and they made good use of it,” he wrote for the club’s official website.

In addition, Nevin gave a special mention to 27-year-old Blues winger Sterling, who opened his account for the tournament with an exquisite volley.

“I couldn’t be happier for Raheem Sterling getting on the scoresheet after a bit of a drought at the Blues,” he wrote for the club’s official website.

For Mount, he should take a lot of confidence from starting and playing well against Iran.

Described as “exceptional” by Jamie Redknapp after his performance, Mount appears to carry out Southgate’s instructions to the letter.

There’s plenty of England supporters, understandably so, that are clamoring for Phil Foden to be included in the starting XI.

However, it’s clear to see why Southgate does rely on Chelsea’s talisman so much.

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Dom Toner

Dom is a Chelsea supporter who has worked in online publishing for more than six years. Graduated from Staffordshire University in 2016, he now writes exclusively for The Chelsea Chronicle covering news, analysis and match coverage. He enjoys the dream position of writing about his boyhood club, which seems to be involved in more drama every single day than an episode of The Bill. Aside from his love for Chelsea, he supports and follows the England cricket team. He also fancies himself as the Sunday League version of Michael Essien.