JUNE 14 - JULY 15

when playing as a right winger. “England’s system does not suit Sterling - or certainly not in the position he is currently occupying,” said Carragher in his newspaper column. “At the moment, England are effectively playing with three number 10s, even though none of them are what you would describe as the classic ver sions of this position. All rely on their movement and pace rather than ability to open up defences with a cute pass. It makes Sterling’s inclusion slightly illogical.”

Certainly, Sterling has been much more prolific at club level, scoring 23 goals in 46 games in all competitions for Pep Guardiola’s side last season.

But, as defender Trent AlexanderArnold told reporters on Thursday, England’s players are not under the impression that a team has been selected and it would be unusual for the manager to make a defi nitive decision so early before the next game.

After the furore over Sterling’s gun tattoo and then his late arrival at England’s St George’s Park training camp before leaving for Russia, Southgate was very supportive of the player in public.

After all that, is he now really ready to drop Sterling after just one game?

Panama should be beatable opponents and it is a game that could offer Sterling the chance to get back to scoring ways and boost his confidence for the rest of the tournament. As for Rashford, at his club Manchester United he appeared to make more of an impact off the bench last season than when he started.

The 20-year-old also looks more effective when cutting in from the flanks rather than playing in the central support striker role that the manager is looking to fill.

There is another option – if England are looking for someone to play alongside Kane and share the goalscoring burden with the captain, Southgate does have Jamie Vardy in the squad.

Vardy has 57 goals in his last three Premier League campaigns and his seven goals for England are more than Sterling and Rashford combined. — AFP