Ahead of England's third-place playoff match against France in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, England defender Stones attended a press conference to answer questions from reporters.

Hello, John, tomorrow's match will be your 95th for England. You've given everything to England for 12 years. May I ask about your future plans? Also, you know this team and these players so well, did you play too passively in the later stages of the match?

First of all, I have no plans to retire in the near future. My memory of that match is still blurry, really, a mix of emotions. I've spent a lot of time reflecting since the end of the match, with various scenes flashing through my mind. It's easy for us to assume "what if it had been better" or what if we were in a different position. This is a difficult process to immediately digest or overcome, and that's where we are now, in a cruel situation. I think everything will become clear once the emotions settle. Tomorrow's match comes quickly, and it's another focus, to fight for a bronze medal, an honor I haven't yet achieved in my career.

John, can you talk about how you've spent the last few days? What have you personally experienced during these days? Also, when did you truly start to focus on France? This certainly won't be an easy match, but it's also an opportunity to end this tournament with a victory and contend for third place.

I think today should be the first time we truly began to fully prepare and focus on tomorrow's match. Before this, everyone gave each other a buffer period, and to be honest, we haven't completely moved on yet. These past few days, we've experienced pain, loss, and many emotions, and all of this is very normal. As players, it's easy for us to focus on anger and frustration, and to dwell on some personal situations and specific details during the match.

But at the same time, it's also easy for us to forget that we should actually be proud of ourselves. I'm also proud of everyone in our entire team. Whether it's the effort put in, the sacrifices made, or everything experienced to get to this point, it doesn't just belong to the players, but is the result of the entire team's collective efforts. And the support and trust from our fans at home, the encouragement given by the fans on site, and all the precious moments and memories along the way, these are all unforgettable.

I think this is football, and it's the nature of players. We always take many things very seriously and very personally. It is precisely because of this that we have come this far, and it is precisely because of this that we constantly strive for progress and higher goals, as we should. The entire team has always moved in the same direction, with the same belief, and we have always believed that we can go all the way and win the championship. I think everyone thinks that. So, when we stopped at the semi-finals, the pain was even deeper, because we truly believed we should have gone further.

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