John Stones admits Man City struggles led to England fear and details new mentality

John Stones says a dream to reach 50 caps for England helped him return to form in the last 18 months after finding himself out of favour at Manchester City.

Stones' struggles at City in 2020 were well documented, with the centre-back so badly out of form that Fernandinho was preferred in defence by Pep Guardiola. When Ruben Dias arrived at the Etihad, Stones faced another obstacle to regular football, having lost his England place at the same time.

However, Stones fought back to become Dias' first choice partner, and he has won his way back into Gareth Southgate's plans as a result, playing a key role in last summer's run to the Euro 2020 final.

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Stones helped City to a fourth Premier League title in five years this season, and is looking to finish the campaign strongly with England in the Nations League. He could win his 57th cap against Germany on Tuesday, but the centre-back admits doubt crept in during a 16-month gap between his 39th and 40th caps at the height of his City struggles.

“I had a dream as a kid, trying to get 50 caps for England and I have made that come true but I didn’t think I would,” Stones said.

“I was not playing and I never thought I would get that opportunity again. I was not playing at City and you have to be playing and playing well to get called up. I did not know if I would get called back up and I used that as a kind of motivation to get back and it was big. It wasn’t switching mentality, but realising what I can do and what I should be doing to be here.

“I think the 50-cap [dream] was when I made my debut for England. I never thought that would happen but you set yourself a target and it rolls on. That