London
England defender John Stones has challenged his team to make their Euro 2020 “dream” come true when they face Italy in Sunday’s final.
Gareth Southgate’s side have reached the country’s first European Championship showpiece after 55 years without a major final appearance.
England will win just the second senior international honour in their history, after the 1966 World Cup, if they beat the Italians at Wembley.
Manchester City centre-back Stones admits it was hard to imagine England having this opportunity to make history when the tournament kicked off four weeks ago.
“It’s huge, with the final being at Wembley as well it’s even more special, something we could have only dreamt of at the start of the tournament,” Stones said on Friday.
“We’ve got this far now and we’ve grown throughout the tournament and not put too much pressure on ourselves. We’ve overcome some tough tests over the last few years.
“We’ve learned a lot of things and gained a lot of experience and that’s got us to where we are on Sunday.
It’s a massive occasion.” Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Bobby Charlton and the rest of the England players who won the World Cup in 1966 remain iconic figures.—AFP
