John Stones insists he’s ‘proud’ and ‘pleased’ with England’s efforts in the Euro 2024 group stages, despite backlash from fans regarding their performances.
The Three Lions finished top of Group C unbeaten with just one goal conceded in three games, while their placing means they’ve landed on the opposite side of the draw to the likes of Germany, Spain, France and Portugal in the knockout rounds.
However, that is very much the ‘glass half full’ assessment of England’s tournament so far.
That’s because Gareth Southgate’s men only managed a narrow 1-0 win over Serbia in their opening match, before putting in turgid performances in 1-1 and 0-0 draws with Denmark and Slovenia, respectively.
England have scored only two goals at the tournament so far, with just 11 shots on target and 2.26 xG — only Serbia (2.14) and Scotland (0.95) have performed worse among teams to have played three games so far.
England topped Group C despite not scoring a single goal in the second half and only winning one match.
They've recorded a lower xG than any other side that has qualified for the knockout stages at #EURO2024, while Slovenia (26) are the only side that have qualified to have… pic.twitter.com/nSYJTr0mU9
— Squawka (@Squawka) June 25, 2024
Despite the negatives, England centre-back Stones is very much taking the positives, choosing to focus on winning the group and keeping another clean sheet.
“Super pleased to top the group, it is what we came here to do in the first phase of the tournament. Super proud of the team for getting another clean sheet which is always important in tournament football,” Stones told BBC Radio 5 Live after Tuesday’s draw with Slovenia.
That said, Stones is not blind to the issues England have faced in Germany so far and knows the Three Lions must improve with the knockout rounds now on the horizon.
“We know we have got to improve and do better,” Stones added. “I think tonight was a good step towards that. There was a lot of emotions and pressure on the game but we handled that really well. We wanted the three points of course but to top the group shouldn’t be underestimated.”
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