UEFA Nations League: Netherlands 3-1 England - 5 Hits and Flops

#2 Flop - John Stones

Stones had a forgetful outing to say the least

While Matthijs de Ligt redeemed himself after a tough start to the game, it was quite exactly the opposite for his counterpart John Stones at the heart of England's defence.

The 25-year-old had not started a league game for Manchester City since April, but he was still named in the playing eleven by Gareth Southgate, possibly due to his ability to play out from the back.

It did not go pear-shaped for Stones right from the get-go, he looked calm in the initial stages and had been decent for the majority of the first half. However, the Englishman started losing his grip on things as soon as De Ligt shrugged him off the ease and muscled through him to score the equaliser in the second half.

Kyle Walker was the closest to Stones and he watched on helplessly, just like he would during extra-time, when Stones proved to be the antagonist for his team yet again, not once but twice.

For the Netherlands' second goal, Stones stopped for a moment, lost the ball owing to pressure from Memphis Depay and embarrassingly fell over, as the Dutchman passed it to Quincy Promes, who had stolen a march on Walker, whose touch took it over the line.

Just 17 minutes later, Stones would again try to play out from the back in a tight spot close to his penalty area and his pass to Ross Barkley, who ended up falling flat on his face after being dispossessed by Depay, allowed Promes to provide the killer blow.

Too often Jordan Pickford was forced to make amends, but he ran out of luck in extra-time, furiously remonstrating with Stones, who fell victim to his own approach.