LIONS WON’T FALL FOR ANY SWEDE TALK

Stones tells rivals not to bother with mindgames

FIRST taking aim at the Colombians and then training his sights on the Swedes, John Stones was in bullish mood.

Smiling wryly when told the players he will be facing in Samara tomorrow have been insisting England are the favourites for the quarter-final tie, Stones said: “I want to say some things but I can’t.

“They are kind of putting all the pressure on us but they are in the same situation as us. They are playing it down, aren’t they?

“They are not going to be able to hide away from what qualities they have got.”

While more guarded than when panning the Colombian players (right), the implication was clear – the Swedes are trying some mind games and Gareth Southgate’s men are not going to fall for them.

“We all know what qualities they have got,” he went on. “They would not be where they are without quality and without having that hunger to get where they are. We have to respect that.”

Stones is nothing but respectful, his humility, politeness and, well, ordinariness, typifying this collection of England players.

Take the way he went over to shake Glenn Hoddle’s hand when he spotted the former England player and manager in a corner of the Spartak Stadium after Tuesday night’s dramatic victory.

“I spotted Glenn, I’ve seen him on TV and I never had the chance to meet him,” said the 24-year-old defender. “He has always spoken very highly of me, which I appreciate a lot.

“When I got over to him, he said he wished he had the chance to play with me and Harry Maguire and we said likewise.

“It was a really nice moment. He wished us all the best and wants us to go all the way and to hear that from someone like him kind of hits home where you are, what position you are in and what chance you have to affect things.

“It was a special moment on a personal level.” But Stones considered it equally special to share the euphoria of reaching the last eight of a World Cup with the men, women and children supporting this England team.

Before seeing Hoddle, Stones had gone to fans who were still in the stadium an hour after the final whistle and joined in the celebrations.

He said: “It kind of hits home that I was once a fan – I still am a fan – and went to games. They come all this way and want to see the team win, which we did. We gave them that joy and gave them those smiles on their faces and we wanted to live that with them. We wanted to sing the songs that we don’t usually get the chance to, we wanted to enjoy that moment when it was there.”

In a few sentences, that is why this England side has formed a connection with the public.

A connection that will only grow stronger if they can overcome Sweden in Samara.

And while Stones is aware of, and fully respects, the threat posed by the well-organised Swedes, he believes there is more to come from England. He said: “We demand more from ourselves, that’s the exciting thing about us, wanting to learn and improve as a team.

“Knowing where we can improve is what’s going to make us better and take us through the tournament.”