DIRTY TRICKS DIDN’T WORK

JOHN Stones has launched a scathing attack on Colombia, branding them as the “dirtiest team” he has ever faced.

The Man Ciuty defender said: “They were probably the dirtiest team I’ve ever come up against – pushing the referee, the head-butt that you’ve all seen, scuffing the penalty spot and a lot of off-the-ball things you haven’t heard about. There could have been several red cards.”

And Stones said the Colombians took their dirty tricks into the penalty shoot-out.

He added: “They were saying a lot of things to us while the lads were walking up to take the penalties.

“We showed massive character to keep a cool head and not get into the brawl they wanted. The best thing was to beat them at football.”