Manchester City and England’s midfielder John Stones has vowed to erase a bitter memory of his international career by winning Euro 2024, which is set to begin on June 14 in Germany.
In the summer of 2021, Stones suffered back-to-back defeats in European finals. First, he lost the UEFA Champions League final against Chelsea with Man City, then the English international went on to lose the Euro 2020 final against Italy after a penalty-shootout drama at Wembley.
Stones, 29, recalled the two most painful defeats of his career, stating that after that, he vowed himself to never go through that again.
“After the Euros final was a difficult, really difficult, point for me,” admitted Stones. “Losing a Champions League final and losing that, was difficult to take.
“After that, I said to myself that I never wanted to have that feeling again. It is possible that it might (happen again) but my mindset is to make some history and make one of my dreams come true — get some silverware with England.”
Having started his career as a centre-back, Stones adapted his game and became a defensive midfielder under the leadership of Pep Guardiola at Man City.
“It's been a great journey, a difficult journey at times. We started at a difficult point where the perception towards the national team wasn't great going into tournaments," he added.
“We all wanted to change that, we wanted everyone to be proud of us when we go into tournaments. We did that, I believe, in 2018. And it's grown since then.
“I feel now it's time for us to go past that step and get something. There's an environment that's been created here that is special. We need to capitalise on that."
After winning the 1966 World Cup, the closest England ever came to tasting international glory was in 2021 when they played the Euro 2020 final against Italy and lost.
With one of the most complete and talented squads consisting of stars like Jude Bellingham, Jack Grealish, James Maddison, Trent-Alexander Arnold and others, England, under the stewardship of Gareth Southgate, remain one of the favourites to lift the elusive title.
