SO it’s Argentina now in the semi-final and what a prospect that’s going to be.
While Jude Bellingham is rightly being praised for his brilliant two-goal performance against Norway to get us there, let’s hear it for my great mate John Stones too.
John has had to deal with a lot with his injuries over the last few years.
But I’ve never seen a man so determined to prove people wrong – and prove himself wrong too.
Because doubt crept into his mind at times. He’s been very open with that and said that he was close to retiring at one stage.
He’s come back from that, dealing with the mental side and not playing as many games as he wanted last season, to then step up to this World Cup shows what a player he is.
Football is not as plain-sailing as people see it from the outside.
You have demons, bad games, injuries and it’s all part and parcel of it.
You need a core around you when you’re going through difficulties, and John has that with his family but also myself as well who he could lean on in football.
We knew each other from England before I signed for Manchester City and had been to tournaments together so there was a bit of a connection.
We’ve grown as good friends off the field. To share the pitch on so many occasions and win so many things alongside him has been a dream.
He always brings positive energy.
In interviews John might come across as very straight but in a club environment he is absolutely hilarious.
He loves having jokes. He doesn’t take life too seriously when it comes to pranks or having a bit of banter. That’s what it’s all about.
We saw that with the joke he played on Tuchel about a supposed shoulder injury.
You don’t achieve what John has gone on to achieve in his career if his personality isn’t the way that it is.
He’s not a shouter in the dressing room, but he’s a leader and if he feels that something isn’t right or needs to be addressed, John will address it.
I’ve said in these columns before that the starting XI from the first game would not be the starting XI to hopefully go and play the World Cup final and John has had to bide his time.
The gaffer has managed John in a certain way and, as injuries, red cards, and suspensions have taken a toll, John has got back into the fold again and been outstanding.
He could have got disheartened, probably thinking: “Well, you’ve brought me here and I’m not playing.” But then, all of sudden, when he’s called upon, he’s been top class.
He really enjoys defending. Even though he’s so good on the ball he could be a midfielder, I can assure you there’s no one that enjoys making blocks more than John Stones.
It’s amazing that, having left City, he doesn’t have a club at the moment but I’m sure there will be a queue of teams wanting to get John Stones’ signature come the end of the tournament.
The objective of this team was to get to the final and we’re one game away.
They rode their luck a bit against Norway, having the better part of the first half, and Norway probably came into the game into the second half.
And, of course, Jude has stepped up to the plate once again and got England out of jail.
In tournament football, it’s not always pretty football.
As I’ve been saying, sometimes you need to take a chance from distance which resulted in Jude’s second goal following Morgan Rogers’ shot which was pushed out by the keeper..
Look at my former City team-mate Julian Alvarez’s goal for Argentina too. It was a great strike from him. But if you don’t shoot, you don’t score.
Both Thomas Tuchel, who thought it wasn’t a very good performance by England, and Jude, who felt we did well, had valid points.
While it wasn’t an absolutely great display it was a good job done to get us through.