Euro 2020: I would like Raheem Sterling to be named the player of the tournament, says England defender John Stones

England defender John Stones said that he is a big fan of his Manchester City teammate Raheem Sterling and that he is happy for him with his performances at Euro 2020. Sterling scored 3 goals and played a role in most of his goals as England reached their first major final in 5 years.

After a poor season with City during which he struggled to keep his place, Sterling has had a remarkable turnaround at Euro 2020, making those decisive runs into the opposition defence. It was Sterling who won the decisive spot-kick for England in the extra-time in their semi-final against Denmark at Wembley.

He has been praised for his work off the pitch, too, especially in speaking out against racism in the game, and Stones feels Sterling deserves all that has come his way this summer as a result.

“I have said it all along that I am a big fan of Raheem’s,” Stones said on Friday.

“I would love to see him get player of the tournament. The unselfish work he does goes unspoken, but as players we see it.

“He has been a great threat going forward with how direct he has been. It has been great playing with him, and I am sure he will be giving everything on Sunday and hopefully get another goal and see where it takes us.

“I could not be happier for him. He has gone through some difficult times personally and you can see it has motivated him. He has come out of it a better player. The top players find a way when things aren’t going well, and Raheem has done that on and off the pitch.”

England’s defensive discipline major reason for reaching final: Stones
England are unbeaten in their last 12 matches in all competitions, keeping 10 clean sheets and conceding just two goals in the process, and go into Sunday’s clash up against a similarly resolute Italian side.

“We have the best defensive record in the competition and that is a major factor in why we have got to the final,” Stones added. “I have said all along that keeping clean sheets works as a platform for us to go and win games.

“It is not just us as a back four, but it starts from the top. How we have pressed further up the pitch is a major part of our game. It is a major part of tournament football to defend this way, we learned that in Russia at the last World Cup.

“The teams who have won tournaments over the years have been teams who have defended set plays well and not conceded goals in big moments. Managing the game is something we have created in our squad.” (With Reuters Inputs).