Stones: Colombia are "the dirtiest team I've ever come up against"
England defender John Stones says he has played against a lot of different rivals in his time but Colombia are in a class of their own when it comes to football's dark arts.
John Stones was criticial of England's Last 16 opponents Colombia for their aggressive behaviour during Tuesday's meeting in Moscow, which was resolved from the penalty spot after extra-time. Stones says he has played against a lot of different rivals in his time but the Colombians are in a class of their own when it comes to football's dark arts...
"I'm glad we beat Colombia playing football" - Stones
Speaking to the press today, ahead of Saturday's quarter final against Sweden, Stones told reporters: “It was a strange game. They're probably the dirtiest team I've ever come up against. In the respects of, when we won a penalty they surrounded the referee, they were even pushing the referee - the headbutt which I'm sure you've all seen... (Wilmar Barrios on Jordan Henderson), scuffing the penalty spot. A lot of off-the-ball stuff that I'm sure you've not heard about - things you don't really see every much in a football match”, the Manchester City player explained. "When you play against a team like that - that want to fight and disturb your momentum, you can sometimes get dragged into it and that's what they want. We stuck to our plan and kept playing our way of football - for me, that's a great sign for a team to have. To have that quality and tunnel-vision of what we want to get out of the game. We stuck to our gameplan but it was a difficult situation to be in - one which we overcame and can now look back on be proud of".