‘Raheem Sterling deserves better!’- Garath Southgate has finally spoken out on why Raheem sterling was not called on England international Euro Qualifier
Even though he had a great start to the season at Stamford Bridge, the 28-year-old will have to work hard to save his international career.
The first time Raheem Sterling played for England, he was only 17 years old. Since then, he has become one of the best players of his age. He became famous quickly at Liverpool and then all over the world at Manchester City. For a long time, Gareth Southgate put his name at the top of the team sheet.
Sterling has helped England score 20 goals and set up 27 others in 82 games so far, with 22 of those games being at big tournaments. He was very important for his country’s run to the Euro 2020 final. He scored goals against Croatia, the Czech Republic, and Germany, and he played the whole 120-minute final loss to Italy.
Sterling was picked automatically for the World Cup in Qatar, even though he had a rough start at Chelsea after moving there for £47.5 million ($58 million) in July 2022. In his last two years at City, his form was also all over the place, but Southgate always stood by his star forward and believed he could do well on the world stage.
Things have changed since then, though, and Sterling has still not played for England in 2023. The Chelsea star was left out of Southgate’s team for the fourth game in a row, this time before the games against Australia and Italy. This made people very worried about his future.
Sterling has every reason to feel lied to. Early in the 2023–24 season, he was one of the best players in the Premier League, and he deserves to be back in the England picture.
The Three Lions are almost done with their qualifying round for the European Championship next summer. If they want to go all the way in Germany, they will need a full-strength team. It would be terrible if Sterling didn’t make the plane, but it’s a very real chance right now, since Southgate’s strange selection decisions could throw off England’s latest attempt to win a trophy…
Make the boss see that he’s wrong.
Sterling scored nine goals in all competitions in his first season with Chelsea, but the team had its worst Premier League finish ever under the new ownership lead by Todd Boehly.
Over the past year, the Blues have spent more than £1 billion ($1.2bn) on new players, such as Mykhailo Mudryk, Noni Madueke, Nicolas Jackson, Christopher Nkunku, and Cole Palmer. Sterling didn’t fade into the background after Mauricio Pochettino was hired as head coach; instead, he has worked hard to get back to his best.
Because Sterling did so much for England during Southgate’s time in charge, Kane was thought to be the only player who could touch him for a long time. But the England boss has taken away his title as one of his “favorites.” Sterling couldn’t be doing more to get his international career going again, and other players are still being picked even though they aren’t doing much at club level.
Harry Maguire is no longer very important to Manchester United’s defense, but he is still a regular member of Southgate’s England back line. Jordan Henderson, who now plays in Saudi Arabia and looks well past his best at 33 years old, is also a constant, as is Kalvin Phillips, who was kicked out of Manchester City.
These players didn’t earn their spots on the England team, which is a bad example. Sterling may keep playing well for Chelsea as the season goes on, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be called up to the England team again.
“I don’t understand why Sterling isn’t in the England team.” “He has good and bad games, but when he does well, he’s the X-factor,” new England player Paul Merson told Sky Sports. “If you want to win the World Cup and the European Championship, you need someone new.”
“He will change the game if they all play their best in a one-off game.” He has that more than anyone else. He’s fast and scores goals. He does have bad games, but I don’t understand why he’s not on the England team.
Hear, hear, Merson! That lack of “X-factor” could be what keeps Southgate from finishing his time in charge with a real win.