The numbers that prove John Stones is the unsung hero of Gareth Southgate's England

Matt Law
·4 min read
Gareth Southgate (left) and John Stones - The numbers that prove John Stones is the unsung hero of Gareth Southgate’s England - Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
Gareth Southgate (left) and John Stones - The numbers that prove John Stones is the unsung hero of Gareth Southgate’s England - Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

When John Stones was asked at England’s Al Wakrah training base whether he wanted to be viewed as the best centre-back in the world, he said that performances and numbers would provide the answer.

So let’s go through some of the numbers. Saturday’s World Cup quarter-final against France will be Stones’ 19th consecutive major tournament start for England over the past four-and-a-half years, having not missed a World Cup or European Championship game through injury, suspension or rotation during that period.

According to Opta, Stones has been the best defender in Qatar for passing accuracy (95 per cent from 382 passes), total ball carries (124) and total carry distance (1,288 metres). He also ranks in the top four for pass success, touches, progressive carries and goal ending sequence involvement.

During the course of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the Euros and this World Cup, Stones has been part of England defences that have conceded 12 goals in 18 games. Not bad for the only member of the 2016 European Championship squad not to play a single minute.

At the last Euros, Stones broke Sir Bobby Moore’s 1966 record by keeping five successive tournament clean sheets. In Qatar, he surpassed 60 caps for his country and a 64th against France will put him ahead of Alan Shearer on the England appearance list.

Stones was the world’s second most expensive defender when Manchester City signed him for £47.5 million from Everton six years ago and he has proved excellent value for money, winning seven major trophies since his big move.

So while a question over whether or not he wanted to be rated as the best centre-back in the world might have seemed to border on the hyperbolic, the numbers would suggest it was entirely justified.

“I think football has to do the talking for that,” answered Stones. “I think I try to give everything and do my best in every game, keep a clean sheet, try to improve as a player and a person.

“I’d love to be regarded as one of the best in the world. I think that comes with performances and being recognised comes below winning. All I want to do is win, I’ve been lucky enough to win titles at City and I’ve enjoyed every minute of that. But every year that feeling just gets stronger and stronger – I want to win more.

“I want to be a good team player, you can’t win everything by yourself. I want to be in a good defensive unit, a good defender, keeping clean sheets, playing good football and setting attacks up from the back. I think to answer your questions that will come with performances and backing that up season after season.”

It is no surprise that the team-mates of Stones are glowing when asked about him. Watch how Harry Maguire looks for him with almost every pass, look at how midfielder Declan Rice relies on him to receive the ball and see his connection with City team-mate Kyle Walker.

It is unthinkable for Southgate to name a Stones-free team

England did not concede a goal without Maguire at the start of the Euros, when Tyrone Mings took over while the Manchester United captain was recovering from injury, but it is unlikely Southgate’s team would manage so well without Stones.

Despite a suggestion he may have suffered a hamstring problem, Stones trained with the rest of the England squad on Friday and is expected to be fit to play. It has become almost unthinkable for Southgate to name a team without him in it. The last time he did, England lost away to Italy in September.

His City and England team-mate Kalvin Phillips said: “I believe that John’s one of the best centre-halves in the world right now. I’m not just saying it because I’m good friends with him. I genuinely believe that.

“He’s one of the best centre-halves in the game. The way he plays at City, he’s brought it into this England team. He just seems so comfortable doing that. He’s very composed on the ball. He defends really well.

“Going forward, he’s probably one of the best centre-halves you can have distributing the ball. And his partnership with Harry [Maguire] is an amazing partnership. They understand each other so well. They feed off each other and help each other out. I think as of now it’s been the best centre-half partnership at the World Cup.”

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