Stones: 'A step in the right direction'

John Stones says England will take the improvement shown in their final group stage game with Slovenia into the knockout stage at EURO 2024.

The Three Lions were held to a draw in Cologne, but the result was enough to see Gareth Southgate’s team finish top of Group C.

They’ll now have to wait until the conclusion of Wednesday’s fixtures before finding out who they will face in the round of 16 in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday evening (5pm BST).

“I think we all wanted to win tonight,” said Stones.

“The objective was to top the group and we’ve done that so I’m extremely pleased, it’s not always going to be an easy road. It’s not always going to be easy when everyone has a target on our back to beat us.

“But two clean sheets out of three is a great positive for us to take into the next stage. I thought there was a lot of improvement from the other two games.

“We tried to play more free-flowing and I thought we did that, found people in the pockets, created more chances and I believe it’s another step in the right direction.

“I can understand some of the fans’ frustration with us not scoring or taking chances, but that is football, we left everything out there and it’s never an easy game.”

England’s second-half performance saw them enjoy a greater share of possession and attempts, and while they couldn’t find the breakthrough, Stones was impressed with how Southgate’s switches impacted the game.

“[The subs] made a great impact today, credit to them,” added the Manchester City defender.

“It’s not easy coming away and not getting as much game time as they want and coming on with the attitude they have in training.

“It’s a great spirit around us and to come in and especially Cole [Palmer], created some great chances for us. He had one at the end that I’m sure he’ll be frustrated that he didn’t do better.”

The England squad will now head back to their basecamp and the training ground, where focus will turn straightaway to Sunday’s game.

“We’ve got to focus on us and what we can control. That is being harsh with ourselves over the next few days about the game, what we could have done better?

“I feel we took a step in the right direction. Not the result we wanted but I’m so pleased that we topped the group.

“We’ve topped the group and I’m a big believer that we have to beat whoever is put in front of us.

“No matter who we play, we’ve got to believe now and keep moving forward. We’ve got to step up when it counts and I’m sure we’ll work hard on that this week in training and looking forward to the next stage.”