Southgate hails Sterling’s ascent
GARETH SOUTHGATE believes England are now seeing the very best of Raheem Sterling – a player who has everything required to become even better.
The 24-year-old has enjoyed a remarkable upturn in fortunes, having been down in the dumps during a miserable 2016 European Championship campaign and having gone on a long international goal drought.
Yet Sterling has come on leaps and bounds at Manchester City under manager Pep Guardiola, while Southgate is getting the best out of a player who netted his eighth England goal in as many appearances in Tuesday’s man-of-the-match display against Kosovo.
The forward also shone in last Saturday’s 4-0 European Championship qualifying defeat of Bulgaria and his international manager believes the only way is up.
“There are moments where the team were ahead by three or four and it’s possible to look outstanding, but in both games, at 0-0, at 1-0 down, at key moments of the game, he has just grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck,” Southgate said after his team’s 5-3 win over Kosovo in Southampton.
“When there was no space at Wembley [against Bulgaria], he was the one that was able to open things up, so I couldn’t speak highly enough of the quality of his performance,” the England boss added.
“He’s just a player that’s playing full of confidence, wants to be involved in everything, showing real maturity around the camp.
“I think that he is becoming a big influence with some of the other leaders, in terms of how we do things, and for me it’s lovely to see the shift in the public opinion of him. We’ve always picked him.
“There have been times where he has not played well and we have taken him off and that has been the right thing, but he has always been integral to the way we want to play.
Sterling is establishing himself at “the real top table in the game” and his ever-improving displays have led to talk about him eventually challenging to be the world’s best.
Southgate feels such recognition will only come with performances in the biggest matches for club and country, but an unrelenting hunger to improve and his undoubted ability makes it possible.
“He will give himself every chance, because he’s got the drive, he’s got the professionalism, he’s got the ability, he’s strong, he’s physically and mentally strong for such a smallstatured lad,” he added.
Sterling looks a sure-fire starter at Euro 2020, but there are not many players with nailed-down spots, given Southgate’s readiness to change his selection plans.
Southgate will have some thinking to do ahead of next month’s qualifiers away to the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, from new faces to midfield solutions and his defensive set-up.
England’s four-man defence were guilty of some poor errors in the frenetic win against Kosovo, and Southgate was asked afterwards about a return to the back five used in the run to the World Cup semi-finals.
“We have to look at everything and the profiles of the players and the profiles of the full-backs,” he said. “I certainly wouldn’t rule it out.
“We’re very open-minded on how we might need to be looking forward and how we might need to look against the top teams, but for sure, we want to get three attacking players on the field,” the England manager concluded. CRICKET SPORT ON TELEVISION