On July 7th at midnight, England will face Switzerland in the quarter-finals of the European Championship. Ahead of the match, English defender John Stones shared his thoughts on the upcoming fixture during the team’s press conference.
About the narrow win against Slovakia
“That victory showed the unity and togetherness of the team. When you do things like that, you start believing you can do even better. After 60 minutes, I thought we were going home. Changing mindsets and keeping belief for everyone was powerful for us and any team.”
About Manager Gareth Southgate
With this being Southgate’s 100th game in charge, Stones commented, “The criticism he receives only motivates him more. As a coach, his strength is his simplicity and clarity in what he wants.”
About the opponent Switzerland
“Switzerland, who knocked out Italy to reach this stage, are excellent, with Akanji being one of their key players. They’ve performed fantastically in this tournament and have quality players, so it’s up to us now. England has a great opportunity to progress further in this Euro than in previous years.”