Stones' debut delight
Friday, 07 September, 2012
Defender John Stones happy with his England bow, but frustrated with defeat.
Whilst Thursday's game in Germany ended in defeat for England U19s, it was a relatively happier trip to Hamburg for one player in the squad as defender John Stones made his first appearance for the Three Lions at any level.
And the Barnsley defender impressed throughout, playing the full 90 minutes and offering a steady and solid option at right-back for Noel Blake's side, but it was the unfortunate scoreline that soured what has been an otherwise good week for Stones.
"I'm over the moon to get my first England cap, when I got the call to play for my country I was speechless to be fair," he told TheFA.com after the game.
"Being in and around the lads this week and making my debut here in Germany is a whole new world to me and I've enjoyed every single minute of it.
"I thought I played alright, but I'm a team player and the team comes first before my own performance."
With European Championship qualifiers coming up in Estonia next month, Stones will be hoping that he has done enough to secure a place in Blake's squad for that trip but he also knows where the Young Lions can improve.
"It was a learning curve tonight for us, we got beat which was disappointing, but like Noel said we can take many positives away from the game," he added.
"We retained the ball for large percentages of the game tonight and created some good chances. We were still in the game at 2-1 and it could've gone either way tonight.
"I hope to get my chance again, to do my country and club proud, I've enjoyed every minute of the experience and it was great to get 90 minutes under my belt as well."