John Stones says England’s dramatic last-16 comeback win against Slovakia could prove an “emotional turning point” in their bid for Euro 2024 glory.
The Three Lions emerged 2-1 victors after Jude Bellingham levelled with an injury-time overhead kick, before captain Harry Kane notched the decisive strike in extra time.
Stones, speaking as England prepared for Saturday’s quarter-final against Switzerland (17:00), said the success will “change a lot of things”.
“It shows that unity, and togetherness, as a team,” said the 30-year-old defender.
“When you have done those things, you can believe you can do it better, and when it gets tough you can always recap to these moments.”
Stones felt England were heading for an early exit before their late fightback – and will now use that performance as “fuel” for the rest of the tournament.
“I thought we were going home up to 60 minutes into the game,” he added.
“To change the mindset, and for us all to keep the belief, it has a lot of power behind it – for ourselves and other teams.”
The Manchester City centre-back also said he is “all good” despite appearing in training with heavy strapping around his knee on Wednesday.
Stones will have to find a new centre-back partner with Marc Guehi suspended for Saturday’s quarter-final, which is being shown live on the BBC.
