ENGLAND defender John Stones has named his ultimate World Cup five-a-side team snubbing Cristiano Ronaldo for Lionel Messi and including a shock goalkeeper choice.
Stones, 28, is expected to make his 64th appearance for the Three Lions on Saturday when they contest a World Cup quarter-final against current holders France.
Instagram / EnglandStones prefers Messi to Ronaldo[/caption]
Instagram / EnglandThe England centre-back also named Hart in goal[/caption]
And as a part of England’s build-up to the game, Manchester City ace Stones joined ex-Love Island contestant Josh Denzel on Lions’ Den to answer questions from team-mates and fans.
Stones was asked to name his ultimate World Cup five-a-side team and picked a mix of football’s past and present stars.
The defender went for a shock choice in goal, picking Man City legend Joe Hart, who he played with at the Etihad for two years.
Hart made 75 appearances for England and was selected for four major tournaments between 2010-2016.
Stones then went for the only English World Cup-winning captain in Bobby Moore to protect the goal.
West Ham icon Moore also had impressive ball-playing abilities for his time.
Stones, a self-confessed Messi fan boy, picked the Argentine over Ronaldo.
Messi’s Argentina will face off with Holland on Friday in a 7pm kick-off for a place in the semis.
Stones has made the most passes for England at the tournament
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While Ronaldo’s Portugal play Morocco on Saturday – whether the 37-year-old starts is another matter.
He then went with Man City and England team-mate Phil Foden – playing with two technical left footers.
And Stones selected three-time World Cup winner Pele to lead the line.
Stones says the England camp is calm ahead of their dust-up with 2018 champions France.
He said: “Quite calm actually. I think everyone’s obviously been with each other so long and we know how each other play and train and everything.
“The maturity is kind of showing now, after the situations we’ve been in and the situations we’ve been through as a team.
“We settled our nerves pretty early. I think we’ve got to concentrate on ourselves and not focus on other people.
“I think we’ve done really well at ticking all the boxes in training and being prepared, and we’ll see where it takes us.”
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