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Tottenham’s Mason Backs England Ahead of Euros

By Alexander Balano

LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 29: Kieran Trippier of Tottenham Hotspur, Ben Davies of Tottenham Hotspur, and Ryan Mason of Tottenham Hotspur warm up during a Tottenham Hotspur training session at the Tottenham Hotspur Training Centre on February 29, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 29: Kieran Trippier of Tottenham Hotspur, Ben Davies of Tottenham Hotspur, and Ryan Mason of Tottenham Hotspur warm up during a Tottenham Hotspur training session at the Tottenham Hotspur Training Centre on February 29, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Tottenham Hotspur FC/Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images) /
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Mere hours just before England takes on Russia in both team’s opening match in the 2016 European Championship, Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Ryan Mason, has backed his country to do well this summer.

There’s a lot on the mind of Ryan Mason currently, as the Tottenham central midfielder is looking to get back into football as soon as possible to reclaim a spot on Mauricio Pochettino’s squad. A good pre-season showing is something that Mason believes will be his first big step in cementing his place for next year.

Related Story: Tottenham's Mason Hopes to Impress Pochettino Next Year

On Roy Hodgson’s 23-man squad are five Spurs players, the most represented club on England’s team. It is something that means a lot to Tottenham supporters to see (although some are holding their breath that none of them get injured).

For Mason, even with his teammates a possibility to be in the starting XI when they take on Russia later on today, the 24-year-old feels that the Three Lions can go all the way in France.

"“There’s no limit on what they can achieve,” Ryan Mason said (via Sky Sports).“They’ve got some very positive results in recent friendlies against top nations. There’s no reason they can’t win it.”“They’ve got to go out there and play with belief and not fear anyone and focus on themselves and you never know what can happen.”“Getting to a semi [final] or the quarters would be a great achievement but we are a massive nation with the ability and the players to go on and win it, and hopefully we can do that. I’m sure they’re confident and I’m optimistic.”"

England's striker Wayne Rooney (L) gestures as talks with England's striker Harry Kane during a team training session in Watford, north of London, on June 1, 2016. England are set to play Portugal in an international friendly football match at Wembley on June 2, ahead of Euro 2016. / AFP / GLYN KIRK / NOT FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING USE / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo credit should read GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images)
England’s striker Wayne Rooney (L) gestures as talks with England’s striker Harry Kane during a team training session in Watford, north of London, on June 1, 2016.England are set to play Portugal in an international friendly football match at Wembley on June 2, ahead of Euro 2016. / AFP / GLYN KIRK / NOT FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING USE / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo credit should read GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images) /

Harry Kane is expected to lead England’s line of attack as the lone striker. Jamie Vardy should have been an obvious choice to start alongside the Golden Boot winner but it doesn’t appear to be that way it seems.

It remains to be seen how the Three Lions will begin their campaign against Russia, but Hotspur HQ’s Ryan Wrenn, took a stab of it with a starting XI, formation and the tactics that Hodgson could deploy.

With a squad that is one of the youngest in the Euros this year, quite possibly the youngest out of all of the 24 teams in the tournament there’s just enough experience to keep everyone level-headed.

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"“I think they’re still fresh mentally and it’s exciting. They’re still a young group of players but at the same time we’ve got a few experienced heads in there and that’s very important.”“I think they’ll do well and if they play with no fear they’ll do the nation proud.”"

It’s to be expected that England, with the squad that they have at their disposal, should make it out of the group stage and reach the knockout rounds.

The youth that the Three Lions are bringing, along with some experienced veterans, it will be their first major tournament that they’re playing in.

Roy Hodgson’s side could see England start off slowly due to plenty of players having butterflies in their stomach. That shouldn’t be surprising at all, but how they respond once the whistle blows will be crucial.

Next: Tottenham's Pochettino Welcomes Challenge Next Season

Now that Wales have picked up three points after beating Slovakia 2-1, the pressure is on England to match the Welsh and come out victorious as well. Failing to do so will have many wondering if it’s the youth movement on England’s side or the tactics that Hodgson has been using if they lose.

Winning all of their qualifying matches and warm-up games has seen the Three Lions breeze through their competition, figuratively speaking not literally, but without a challenge there could be a sense of complacency. Hopefully that isn’t the case.

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