The Chelsea duo are isolated after interacting with club teammate Billy Gilmour, who tested positive for COVID-19, following England's draw with Scotland on Friday.
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England suffered a major setback as Chelsea’s Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell were forced to isolate after being exposed to a Covid-19-infected opponent. Their chances of winning their Euro 2020 group have taken a big hit before Tuesday’s match against the Czech Republic. After England’s 0-0 draw with Scotland on Friday, Mount and Chilwell interacted with club teammate Billy Gilmour, who has tested positive for COVID-19. The Chelsea duo will now miss their final Group D clash against Czech Republic on Tuesday. Despite the fact that they have since tested negative, the England pair must remain in self-isolation up to and including June 28 due to their close contact with him.
“[Mount and Chilwell] must isolate up to and including next Monday, June 28. The decision has been taken in consultation with Public Health England,” an FA statement read on Tuesday. “The entire England squad and staff had lateral flow tests on Monday and all were again negative, as was the case with Sunday’s UEFA pre-match PCR tests.
“Mount and Chilwell will isolate and train individually in private areas at England’s training base St George’s Park, with the rest of the squad returning there after tonight’s fixture against Czech Republic at Wembley. Further tests will be carried out as and when appropriate.”
Mount and Chilwell embraced and spoke with Gilmour on the field, as well as spending time in the tunnel with their Chelsea teammate before Gilmour returned a positive COVID-19 test on Monday. England coach Gareth Southgate will be deprived of midfielder Mount, who has started both of the team’s group matches, against the Czechs at Wembley. Meanwhile, left-back Chilwell is yet to play in the tournament.
We can confirm that @BenChilwell and @masonmount_10 must isolate up to and including Monday 28 June. This decision has been taken in consultation with Public Health England.
— England (@England) June 22, 2021
England are all but certainly guaranteed a place in the final 16, but Mount and Chilwell might be ruled out of their first knockout clash depending on where England end up in the group. If England finish first in Group D, they will play the second-placed team in Group F (Portugal, France, Germany, or Hungary) at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday, June 29.
If Gareth Southgate’s side finishes second in Group D, they will face the second-placed team from Group E (Spain, Sweden, Poland, Slovakia) on Monday, June 28, which means Mount and Chilwell will miss out on this clash.
It’s no longer only the top two teams from a group qualify for the knockout stages as the third-placed teams have a chance to progress as well. If England finish as one of the four best third-placed teams, they will face either the Group C or Group B winners on Sunday or the Group E winners on Tuesday. In order for this to happen, England would have to lose to the Czech Republic and Scotland would have to beat Croatia by a big margin in their last group encounter.
Meanwhile for Scotland, Gilmour – their star player against England in the previous clash – must quarantine for 10 days. As a result, he has been ruled out of their pivotal game against Croatia in Glasgow on Tuesday. Group D is one of the tightest in the tournament, with all four teams still have a chance to qualify into the knockout stages. Tuesday’s clashes will be interesting as the top two teams face each other, while the bottom two teams meet in the other group match.
