England defender John Stones has addressed the viral changing room prank that sent social media into a frenzy following the Three Lions’ 3-2 win over Mexico.
The footage, captured inside England’s dressing room, showed manager Thomas Tuchel clapping along to music before his mood shifted upon noticing Stones clutching his shoulder in apparent distress.
Declan Rice flagged the concern to Tuchel, prompting a worried reaction from the England boss who clearly feared his defender had picked up a serious injury.
Stones had been holding his shoulder and flexing his arm, convincingly selling the act to his manager and team-mates alike.
But when the bass drop hit, Stones immediately began pumping his fist toward the ceiling, drawing huge cheers from the celebrating England squad around him.
A visibly relieved Tuchel then bounced over to the 32-year-old and pulled him in for a hug, creating the moment that has now clocked up more than 40 million views across social media platforms.
“It’s feeling better now, it’s feeling better – it has its ups and downs,” Stones joked when asked about his shoulder during an interview with England’s in-house media.
The defender admitted the timing of the prank was made all the more mischievous given that midfielder Jordan Henderson had suffered a genuine freak injury, breaking his arm after falling while jumping over the advertising hoardings following the match.
“I tried to keep a straight face as I was doing it because I saw he [Tuchel] was concerned and thinking, ‘has he actually hurt himself?'” Stones said.
“Especially after what Hendo had just done outside, he didn’t know what was going to come but it was good vibes in there,” the defender added.
Stones also admitted the clip’s enormous reach caught him off guard, saying: “I didn’t think it would get that much traction to be fair.”
The Manchester City man started England’s opening 4-2 victory over Croatia and made a late appearance in the 2-1 win over DR Congo before coming on with just over half an hour remaining against Mexico.
He was introduced after winger Bukayo Saka was withdrawn following Jarrel Quansah’s red card, which left England facing the final stages a man down.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, England held on to claim a dramatic 3-2 victory and secure their passage into the knockout rounds of the World Cup.
England now face Norway in the quarter-finals in Miami on Saturday, with kick-off scheduled for 22:00 BST.
