MX23RW : Saturday, July 21 11:03:44

John Stones: 'England have set benchmark for tournament football'

Stones: 'England have set benchmark'
© Reuters
Defender John Stones says that England's run to the World Cup semi-finals has set "the benchmark" for future tournaments.

Defender John Stones has revealed that he will watch each of England's World Cup games in order to find ways to improve in the future.

England reached the semi-finals of the tournament for the first time since 1990 and finished in fourth place after losing to Belgium in Saturday's third-place playoff.

However, Stones feels that the Three Lions should use their performance at the competition as a stepping stone for future tournaments, with the Nations League and Euro 2020 to come over the next two years.

The Manchester City centre-back is quoted by Sky Sports News as saying: "It's been a great benchmark for what you do as England. We've set a standard. But we don't just want to maintain that, we want to improve on it.

"That's the aim now. We'll go away and reflect a lot. I will watch all the games back in my own time, what we did at both ends of the pitch.

"I think it is always good to self-analyse, be self-critical. That is how I've got through so far and improved. You've got to be harsh on yourself because it is the only way you are going to get better by studying those situations where you may have fallen short."

Stones started all seven of England's games, with two goals being scored in the group-stage fixture with Panama.

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Croatia striker Mario Mandzukic scores the winning goal in the World Cup semi-final against England on July 11, 2018
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