PHIL FODEN and Mason Mount battling it out for the biggest trophy in club football is a shot in the arm to England’s hopes of Euro 2020 glory, reckons former Three Lions skipper Stuart Pearce.

And the London 2012 Team GB boss believes Gareth Southgate’s players ending 55 years of hurt can catapult the country’s morale to heights not seen since that storied Olympic summer nine years ago.

Pearce has revelled in watching England’s young Lions roar in the Champions League as Manchester City and Chelsea booked a full English final in Istanbul.

Foden, 20, and Mount, 22, will feature alongside fellow England aces Raheem Sterling, Ben Chilwell and Reece James in the Turkish capital and Pearce reckons the big-stage experience will be a game-changer.

Former fiery left-back Pearce, 59, said: “At club level, there’s no higher game than the Champions League final.

“These young players are playing so well for their clubs – and on top of that, they’ve been successful and have potentially got the opportunity [to win it].

“Whether it be Phil Foden at Manchester City, Mason Mount at Chelsea or various other players, one of them is going to get their hands on the trophy and be a Champions League winner.

“And that only benefits the national team. I’ve got a real interest in the national team doing well this summer and beyond, so the experience that these young players get is fantastic.

“And it’s good for English football. To have two teams in the Champions League final – that tells you something about English football and the Premier League.

“I’m very much [looking forward to the Euros]. I’ll be covering every England game, including both semi-finals and the final. And hopefully, England are in the final.”

Wirral Globe: Pearce visited Wembley-bound Hornchurch to give Mark Stimson and his players a rousing rallying cry ahead of their FA Trophy final against HerefordPearce visited Wembley-bound Hornchurch to give Mark Stimson and his players a rousing rallying cry ahead of their FA Trophy final against Hereford

Pearce forever etched his name into Three Lions folklore at Euro 96 and celebrated wildly after thumping home a penalty in the quarter-final shoot-out triumph against Spain.

That came six years after his miss from the spot against West Germany at Italia 90 and Pearce, who racked up 78 caps for his country, loved banishing his World Cup spot-kick demons.

Terry Venables’ players captured the hearts of the nation that summer as Paul Gascoigne, Alan Shearer, David Seaman and co came within a whisker of major trophy nirvana.

Those Wembley memories will forever be engraved in Pearce’s mind but the current West Ham No.2 is relishing the prospect of this year’s final – and semi-finals – being held at the same venue.

Pearce coached Team GB at London 2012 and reckons a realistic run to the latter stages can be the perfect tonic for a locked-down nation after a year of coronavirus restrictions.

The former Nottingham Forest and Newcastle star, speaking at Wembley-bound FA Trophy giant-killers Hornchurch as an ambassador for Pitching In, added: “The only time we’ve ever won a tournament has been on our own soil in 1966.

“We went to a semi in 1996, so we just hope that this year we can go one step further.

“I think we’ve got the manager and we’ve got the squad – and we’ll need the rub of the green, as you do in football.

“If my experience is anything to go by, and the excitement and the euphoria that a homegrown tournament on this soil, for the whole country it will give us a massive lift – just as the Olympics did in 2012.”

Entain, owner of Ladbrokes, has launched a multi-million pound investment programme, Pitching In, designed to support and promote grassroots sports. For more details see: https://entaingroup.com/sustainability/pitching-in/