The Vindication Of Raheem Sterling At Euro 2020

It hasn’t been enthralling or spectacular by any means, but England are just two games away from achieving their second major honour in international football. A stalemate against Scotland sandwiched in between two slim victories over Croatia and the Czech Republic saw them become the first team in Euros history to top their group with just two goals (Belgium’s 1980 campaign had set the previous record with three). 

Two commanding victories over Germany and Ukraine has placed England on the precipice of greatness; a win against Denmark on Wednesday would send them to their first major final since the 1966 FIFA World Cup Final when they defeated West Germany at Wembley Stadium via a hat-trick from Geoff Hurst and a goal from Martin Peters.

Tinkerman Southgate

Gareth Southgate has consistently chopped and changed his line-ups to prepare for the opponent; Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier made way for Reece James and Luke Shaw after a 1-0 victory over Croatia on opening day, although the two fullbacks were ushered into the line-up for the final group stage match against the Czech Republic. Harry Maguire returned from an ankle injury and replaced Tyrone Mings on the left side of defence to lead England to a composed 1-0 win over the Czechs, whilst Bukayo Saka and Jack Grealish were brought into the team at the expense of Phil Foden and Mason Mount, the latter of whom had come into close contact with Chelsea teammate Billy Gilmour prior to the Scot’s positive COVID-19 diagnosis.

Whilst Southgate has mainly opted for a variation of a 4-3-3 and a 4-2-3-1 formation this tournament, he switched to a 3-4-3 in the Round of 16 fixture in an attempt to match Germany’s set-up and limit their wide overloads that caused Portugal all kinds of problems in the group stage. It worked like a charm, with Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice limiting Leon Goretzka and Toni Kroos’ creative influence in midfield, while Kieran Trippier, brought in for Grealish, delivered a storming display at right wingback. 

The quarterfinal saw England play their first and only ‘away’ match of the tournament, taking on Ukraine at the Stadio Olimpico; Saka was left out of the squad after suffering a knock in training, whilst Trippier dropped to the bench as Southgate reverted to a 4-2-3-1 formation with Mount and Jadon Sancho earning starting spots in attack. Harry Kane broke the deadlock early on against a fatigued and desperate Ukraine side, and the Three Lions held on for their most convincing and dominant display thus far, a 4-0 thrashing in Rome.

There have been plenty of twists and turns to England’s formations, starting line-ups, and opponents, but two constants have remained: England have kept a clean sheet in all five games up until this point, and Raheem Sterling has consistently been their most dangerous threat in attack.

Sterling Had A Point To Prove

Southgate has an unrivalled plethora of attacking options at his disposal, to the point where he could just as well pick three or four random names out of a hat and almost certainly still have a stronger attack than the opposition manager. However, just a few weeks ago, if you suggested that Sterling should be a guaranteed starter for the Three Lions, you’d have likely been laughed off by a majority of neutrals and England supporters.

And in fairness, who could blame them? Sterling doesn’t have the same ‘fresh new car’ smell of Bukayo Saka or Phil Foden, who at 19 and 21, respectively, are coming off the back of breakthrough campaigns for Arsenal and Manchester City, establishing themselves as two of the brightest prospects in football. He isn’t as electrifying to watch as Jadon Sancho or Jack Grealish, and unlike Marcus Rashford, Mason Mount, Harry Kane or Dominic Calvert-Lewin, he’s far from one of the first names on his club manager’s team sheet. While he was given a surprise start in the Champions League Final in Porto, he failed to take advantage of the opportunity before being hauled off for Sergio Agüero in the 77th minute.

Whilst it has been a tremendous campaign for Manchester City, who won their third Premier League title in four years as well as their fourth consecutive EFL Cup in addition to reaching a major European final for the first time in club history, Sterling has been a relative disappointment in comparison to his teammates. In sharp contrast to John Stones, who has gone from the brink of a summer exit to playing the best football of his career next to Rúben Dias, or João Cancelo, who has gone from strength to strength in his sophomore season in England, Sterling’s performances have declined. His tally of 14 goals and 12 assists in all competitions would be an impressive figure for the majority of Premier League forwards, but it pales in contrast to last season’s figure of 31 goals and 10 assists. At 26, Sterling has gone from being a key man in attack to finding himself on the outside looking in, with Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez typically partnering Kevin de Bruyne in Pep Guardiola’s three-pronged attack.

Sterling Stars in Group Stages

Nevertheless, Southgate persisted with his much-maligned forward, starting him on the left side of the front three against Croatia. In contrast to the World Cup semifinal three years prior that saw him hauled off for Rashford after a tepid display in attack, Sterling was the team’s main impetus going forward. Picking up a throw-in from Trippier, Sterling charged forward and played a through ball to Foden, whose effort bounced off the post and into the feet of Croatian defender Joško Gvardiol. England’s answer came after the break as Kalvin Phillips collected a pass in the right half-space and saw Sterling sprinting into the edge of the box. Sterling needed just one touch to beat Dominik Livaković from close range, but his movement created the goalscoring opportunity as much as Phillips’ excellent pass did.

A nervy draw against Scotland prompted several changes from Southgate, but Sterling, who lasted the full 90, retained his place in the starting line-up against the Czech Republic. He was proven right once more; Sterling came perilously close to opening the scoring within two minutes after receiving a through ball from Shaw and lofting it above Tomáš Vaclík, but his effort bounced off the post and into safety. Minutes later, as Grealish charged to the byline and played a cross towards the centre of the box, Sterling deftly wriggled his way out of the grasp of Tomáš Kalas and Jan Bořil, shifting to the far post and heading the ball into the back of the net.

Sterling Starring Against Germany

Southgate’s switch to a 3-4-3 saw Sterling occupy a fairly similar role to his position in the 2018 FIFA World Cup when he partnered Kane in a 3-5-2, albeit with more freedom to cut in from the left and threaten Joshua Kimmich and Matthias Ginter with his rampant pace. Once again, Sterling caused England’s first major opportunity of the game, cutting inside and firing a ferocious shot that was parried away by Manuel Neuer for a corner kick. 

He nearly opened the scoring immediately after the break, pouncing on an underhit pass from Thomas Müller before being tackled at the edge of the box; his run had drawn the attention of the entirety of the German defence and provided Kane with a one-on-one opportunity, but the Tottenham’s striker’s heavy touch and an expertly timed last-ditch tackle from Mats Hummels extinguished the fire. England’s just reward came in the 75th minute, as Sterling received a pass from Kyle Walker, waited for a passing option, brushed off Müller and Antonio Rüdiger before finding Kane with a pass. 

Rather than attempt a shot, Kane laid the ball off to substitute Grealish, who in turn played it towards Shaw on the edge of the box. Shaw’s cross met the right foot of Sterling, who calmly tucked it past Neuer and into the back of the net. In theory, it was nothing more than a tap-in, but his reception and dribble to disorganize the defence, his decision to ‘dummy’ it and allow Grealish to receive the pass, his patience to hold his run and remain onside, his movement to meet the angle of Shaw’s cross and his composure to put away the chance…all of these things point to a vastly intelligent player whose mental and technical abilities perhaps don’t get the credit they deserve.

However, Sterling nearly went from hero to zero after his careless back pass allowed Kai Havertz to find Müller in a one-on-one with Jordan Pickford, but the Raumdeuter’s shot sailed just wide of the goal. The Three Lions took advantage and doubled their lead minutes later, as Kane headed in a cross from Grealish to break his scoring duck and lead England to the next round. 

Ukraine Drubbing

While Sterling was by no means the star of the show in their annihilation of Ukraine, he was the genie that opened the bottle; receiving a pass on the touchline, Sterling cut inside, muscled his way past Mykola Shaparenko, and played a delectable through ball to Kane, who made no mistake with the finish. His combination with Shaw proved to be a constant thorn in Ukraine’s right side, as a brace from Kane and set-piece goals from Jordan Henderson and Harry Maguire lifted England to a blowout victory in Rome.

As two nations watched with bated breath as Havertz put Müller through on goal, so too did Sterling, clasping his hands above his head, before collapsing to his knees from the sheer relief and embarrassment of his error. He would have surely seen the headlines flashing through his head — a brainless mistake from Sterling costs England a chance to move onto the quarterfinal. And sure enough, despite the fact that Sterling was England’s most dangerous attacker, whilst Kane struggled to get a hold on proceedings for the majority of the match, it was Kane whose image was plastered on the front of every major British newspaper apart from, ironically, The Sun: “55 years of hurt never stopped us Raheeming.”

Sterling A True Hero

Perhaps it’s the fact that he scored just two goals in his first 45 appearances for his country or the fact that he wasn’t born in England, but in Kingstown, Jamaica, or a deeper, more shameful reason, but Raheem Sterling has never quite been embraced by English media and fans the same way players such as Harry Maguire or Declan Rice or Marcus Rashford have. His story is as powerful and inspirational as just about any rags-to-riches tearjerker you could find on Netflix or Hulu, and yet, he has never quite had the hero’s welcome or wholehearted endorsement you’d expect from a player of his calibre.

He was just two years old when his father was murdered in Jamaica after being wrongly caught in a gang turf war, and five years old when his mother moved him and his older sister across the pond to Neasden, northwest London in search of a better life. He would wake up at five in the morning to go with his mother and help her scrub hotel toilets and fold bed sheets as she attempted to scrape together the cash to provide for her children and fuel her pursuit of a degree. 

He would take three separate buses, always accompanied by his older sister, to train at QPR’s academy, leaving at 3:15 pm and getting back home eight hours later. He would kick around the ball in his housing estate while looking out at the shadow of Wembley Stadium: “I used to kick about in this green right by my house, and I could take a shot on goal and then turn round to celebrate and the Wembley arch would literally be right above my head. It was like you were there,” stated Sterling in The Players’ Tribune.

Remember that opening animated video to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where the boy juggles his football over a ramshackle favela rooftop and looks out at the glorious Maracanã stadium? This is that, but in real life. Despite his impoverished background and the seemingly improbable rise to fame, Sterling has consistently been the whipping boy for the British press, who scapegoated him as a money-hungry glory chaser after his move from Liverpool to Manchester City in 2015, and called him a ‘footie idiot’ after buying his mother a mansion, and lambasted him for honouring his late father with a tattoo of an M16 assault rifle on his leg. 

He has been the victim of racist media coverage and a racist populace, suffering racial abuse at various matches and even being assaulted after a match, and yet, he has never once wavered in his desire to lead his club and country to glory and provide a better life for those in need. He has been a leading voice in tackling racial abuse within football, and if there is anybody who can consider themselves responsible for England’s decision to take a knee before every match, it’s him. Whether on or off the pitch, the boy from Brent has consistently stood up and led from the front, and now, he has a chance to take England to their first-ever major final in 55 years — in the same venue where they won the World Cup, the same venue that Raheem Sterling gazed up at whilst pursuing a better life for himself and his family.

Zach Lowy

Zach Lowy is the co-creator of Breaking The Lines (@BTLVid) and a freelance soccer journalist for various websites such as BET Central, Soccer Laduma and Hudl Analysis. He is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and is the host of the Cortalinhas podcast, a weekly podcast that discusses Portuguese football. Zach has accumulated a wealth of experience and knowledge in football and has written about various subjects for BET Central ranging from Barcelona's financial difficulties to the 'lost generation' of South Africa's Amajita class of 2009.