Stones goes from brink of retirement to World Cup 'pure joy'

Stones started alongside Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa in England's latest friendly and could be given the nod ahead of Manchester City team-mate Marc Guehi for the Croatia game (Wednesday, 21:00 BST). Stones played just 439 minutes of Premier League football in the season just ended, featuring in only 18 games for City across all competitions. He missed two months with a thigh injury and had to sit out England's two friendly matches before Tuchel picked his squad because of a calf injury. …