ROLLING STONES
John backs England to claim Euros glory
JOHN Stones believes England are ready to go and conquer Europe this summer.
The Three Lions will head to Euro 2024 in Germany as one of the strong favourites to win.
Gareth Southgate’s men have been knocking on the door at the last three major tournaments, having reached a World Cup semifinal and quarter-final, along with the final of the last Euros on home soil.
Now Stones believes England have the talent available to finally get their hands on what would be their first trophy since 1966.
Belief
Stones said: “In terms of our maturity and belief, we have just grown massively.
“We started at a difficult point in the earlier times, where the perception, or the feeling towards the national team wasn’t great going into tournaments.
“We wanted everyone to love
English football again. Wanted people to be proud of us when we go into tournaments. And we did that, I believe, in 2018 (Russia World Cup).
“And it’s grown since then. I feel now it’s time for us to go past that step and get something. Age comes into play and form, which I feel like everyone is getting better and better over the years. I feel we’re in a really good stage.
“We’ve had different players coming in and out who have bought into it. I can’t really put my finger on what that is, but there’s an environment that’s been created here that is special. We need to capitalise on that definitely.”
Stones admits some lingering personal pain is driving him towards earning footballing immortality this summer.
He was part of the Manchester City team which lost the Champions League final to Chelsea in 2021, then the Euros final with the Three Lions a few weeks later.
Mindset
He said: “Especially after the Euros final, it was a really difficult point for me, losing a Champions League final and losing that. It was difficult to take.
“I said to myself after that, that I never wanted to have that feeling again.
“And it’s possible that it might, but my mindset is to make some history, and make one of my dreams come true.
“To get some silverware with England, and make everyone’s dream come true in that aspect.”
England face Brazil tonight having beaten the Samba stars four times in 25 games. The last time they clashed it was a goalless Wembley draw in 2017.
Stones added: “We didn’t realise or believe enough that we were better than them at that point.
“But I feel now, with the players we’ve got and the experiences that we’ve had, being in finals, winning (club) trophies, having tough experiences, we go into this game with the most belief that we could come away with a win.”