John Stones has headed to the World Cup off the back of a frustrating final season at Manchester City - but believes he's primed to make an impact with England.
The defender has revealed he has “never felt better” going into a tournament - and is determined to prove Pep Guardiola wrong.
Stones made just five starts in the Premier League last season, making his inclusion in the World Cup squad a major gamble by Thomas Tuchel. But Stones, 32, was clearly frustrated at his lack of minutes in Guardiola’s final season in charge at Manchester City. That has given Stones an extra edge for this World Cup because he is determined to prove a point after his season of frustration.
England defender Stones, who is now a free agent after his contract expired, said: “I was fit enough 100 per cent, it comes down to various things, the manager (Guardiola) and that’s something I can’t control and I think it’s always difficult to pick an XI and I say to this to him.
“He knows how much I wanted to play, how much I wanted to be there and you can look at it in so many ways. I think I feel as good as I’ve ever been before a tournament. Yeah, ready, ready to go, feel great, feel sharp and feel fresh and excited for it.”
Stones is on 79 caps and is already dreaming of reaching the 100 mark but also says he has a strong belief that England can go one step further after near misses. He added to ITV: “I’d love to. It’s always been my dream. I set a target of 50 and around that time, I never thought I’d play for England around 39 or 41 and I was stuck.
“I thought that was it. I’ll stay on definitely. I feel too good and have too much to give and too much competitive within me and for my country.
“I always believed we would win and that belief has to be a belief. It can’t be a hope. We all hope for good things to happen but when you have a belief it’s different. I’ve said from March and qualifying that we have that belief and we should feel that and look back on that.
“It’s difficult to put into words, if you’d said that to me as a kid that I’d get to those points in my career - especially in an England shirt - I feel immense pride but something is missing.”
