The midfielder came off the bench in the 3-0 win over Senegal as the Three Lions booked a place in the last eight with relative comfort, teeing up a big clash with the French this Saturday evening.

On the eve of that clash, both family and football have been on Mount’s mind as he discussed meeting his young niece for the first time after the group-stage game against Iran and the importance of switching off in the red-hot pressure of tournament football.

‘My sister lives in Australia so I’ve never met Poppy before,’ the 23-year-old said this week. ‘They went to the stadium and watched the game.

‘They’ve obviously always watched me on TV but never seen a game live so to see her after the game and meet her for the first time in the stadium was so special for us to share that special moment together.

‘To see my sister, my sister’s husband and my little nephew as well, this is what’s all about. It’s World Cup football but it’s also about family.

‘They’ve all been staying together and having the best time of their lives, coming to every game and supporting us. It’s a lot of memories to look back on when it’s finished.’

Mount praised the approach of England boss Gareth Southgate in managing the balance between work and downtime while the team have been in Qatar, though there is no doubt it is full focus on France now and the daunting challenge of taking on Kylian Mbappe and Co at Al Bayt Stadium.

‘It can be tough at times when it’s just football, football, football all the time but when there’s five days between the games, to have that day or evening where you can switch off, go see the family and spend time with them, it’s so needed,’ he added.

‘As soon as we finish that we’re straight back into football mode and have focus on a big game coming up round the corner so we’ve got to get ready for that.’