RAZZA DAZZLE
Sterling was so undervalued Gareth is adamant on Dec
Tom Hopkinson
GARETH SOUTHGATE won’t be surprised if it’s Razza, not Wazza, making the headlines by the end of this week.
While the return of England’s former No.10 Wayne Rooney has been the major talking point ahead of Thursday’s friendly with the USA and Sunday’s Nations League clash with Croatia, it’s the form of the current No.10 that will come into focus once the real action begins.
Raheem Sterling is arguably playing the best football of his life for club and country with two goals, one of them a quite brilliant strike, helping England to that fantastic 3-2 win in Spain last month.
Since then he has been in scintillating form with Manchester City, adding two goals against Southampton last Sunday and one against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League in midweek.
England boss Southgate said: “I am really pleased for Raheem because he is in outstanding form. I was at City last Sunday and he gave an outstanding performance against Southampton.
“We have huge belief in him and that belief in his own game is coming now.
“We have been happy with his performances for a long time. The missing piece was his goal tally but you can see what scoring twice in Seville has meant to him.
“That was a big psychological barrier overcome and he has continued that form with his club.”
Smooth
City boss Pep Guardiola said Sterling used to be scared in front of goal, but Southgate added: “Well, I’m not going to disagree with Pep Guardiola, that wouldn’t be a good route to go down.
“In any sport you’re at your best when you’re playing without thinking too much and that’s what he did in Seville.
“He got his chance and just hit it. You want players to be free of overthinking, that’s when they’re in a good place and a good flow.” Sterling, like Rooney, is a mercurial talent and Southgate knows young squad members such as Jadon Sancho will benefit from being around the pair.
“Raheem and Jadon were at Manchester City together so they have a bit of a relationship from that time anyway,” he said.
“In Croatia, Raheem was the first person to congratulate Jadon on his debut – the older players have made the environment of settling in a very smooth one.
“Wayne, in my time with England, had already spoken with some of the younger age groups, and he did some ambassadorial work around the Under-17 finals.
“So we’ve lots of people with great experiences for our young players to tap into and it’s important those experiences are shared because that’s part of learning.” ENGLAND boss Gareth Southgate is opposed to plans for a 48-team World Cup because an expansion would limit the qualification risk factor. FIFA boss Gianni Infantino wants to expand the tournament, perhaps as early as 2022, but Southgate said: “I understand that the opportunity to play major tournaments for some countries that don’t get there so often is a big one. But we’ve got to be careful not to make qualifying for the tournaments too straightforward because the games become less interesting if there isn’t any jeopardy involved.” DECLAN RICE will be given the time he needs to come to a decision over his international future.
The West Ham star, 19, has been capped three times by the Republic of Ireland but never in a competitive international.
That has left the door open for England boss Gareth Southgate, as the defensive midfielder is also eligible to represent the Three Lions.
Quality
Southgate said: “I have spoken with him but only to express that we have deliberately left him alone because it is important that he is given time to make a decision.
“It is a huge decision for him to take. He is playing very well for his club – people can see the quality and the potential he has.
“We have not met with Declan since the summer.
“We have had conversations with him, but we have left him to make his decision, a decision that is very important to him.
“He is a young man but he has to make a decision at some stage if he wants to play international football.”