He was clapping along to the post-match tunes, then Thomas Tuchel froze. England’s manager had spotted Declan Rice flagging that defender John Stones was injured, clutching his shoulder in apparent agony. For a moment, concern flickered across Tuchel’s face.
Then Stones started pumping his fist towards the ceiling as the drop kicked in, and the dressing room erupted. The 32-year-old had faked the injury in a prank that has since clocked up more than 40 million views on social media. A relieved, bouncing Tuchel pogoed over to hug him.
“John Stones faked a shoulder injury in a dressing-room prank that fooled Thomas Tuchel, sparking a viral moment after England's win.”
The moment came after England’s 3-2 victory over Mexico, but also after midfielder Jordan Henderson had suffered a freak injury falling 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 told England’s in-house media. "Especially after what Hendo had just done outside, he didn't know what was going to come but it was good vibes in there."
Asked about his shoulder, Stones joked: "It's feeling better now, it's feeling better - it has its ups and downs." He added: "I didn't think it would get that much traction to be fair."
Stones, who started England’s opening 4-2 win against Croatia and made a late appearance in the 2-1 win over DR Congo, came on with over half an hour to play against Mexico after Bukayo Saka was sacrificed following Jarrel Quansah’s red card.
England now face Norway in the quarter-finals in Miami on Saturday at 22:00 BST – a test of whether these good vibes can carry them further.