Raheem Sterling still has a chance to return to the World Cup if the situation at home is suitable.
The English Football Association said during Sunday’s quarter-final against Senegal that the striker Raheem Sterling is sidelined for the match due to family reasons. After the match, it was revealed that the background was a robbery targeting the player’s home.
Numerous British media reported that armed thieves broke into Sterling’s home in England. Among other things, the BBC says that Sterling’s family was at home at the time of the incident.
– Raheem is flying home now. In moments like these, family is the most important thing. Let’s see how things develop over the next few days, the England manager Gareth Southgate said in an interview with the BBC.
27-year-old Sterling has three children. As of late Sunday evening, Finnish time, there was still no more detailed information about the course of events. According to the Telegraph magazine, Sterling was shocked by the incident and worried about the well-being of his children.
Returning to the Games is not excluded either
The English tournament will continue for at least one more match. It will face France in the quarterfinals next week on Saturday. According to the BBC, Sterling still has a chance to return to Qatar as part of the squad if the situation at home allows it.
“I don’t want to put any pressure on him about that,” Southgate said.
Editor of the Standard magazine Nizaar Kinsella wrote on Twitter (you’re moving to another service) Sterling weighed his solution carefully. According to Kinsella, Sterling would also be willing to return to the tournament.
In his pre-match press conference, Southgate said he spent several hours with Sterling on Sunday morning. After that, the head coach moved to focus on the match played in the evening and Sterling most obviously headed home as quickly as possible.
Sterling is England’s most experienced player in terms of international appearances and is one of Southgate’s trusted players. He scored right away in the first match of the World Cup against Iran. The Chelsea striker also played in the second match against the United States, but did not make it to the field in the final group stage match against Wales. Even on Saturday, he participated in England’s training as usual.
Last year, Sterling was in England’s starting line-up in all seven of England’s matches at the European Championships, which ended with a silver medal.
Formerly also a defender Ben White left England’s World Cup squad for personal reasons. White is no longer returning to the tournament. He didn’t play a second in the tournament, but was on the bench in one match.