Though four players oppose the Chelsea star, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards concur about Raheem Sterling.
Despite his excellent form this season, the Chelsea player has been left out of Gareth Southgate’s England team for the fifth time in a row.
Following Raheem Sterling’s recent exclusion from the England squad, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards concur that “something must have gone on” between the Chelsea forward and manager Gareth Southgate.
The Blues winger scored the second goal for Mauricio Pochettino’s team in Sunday afternoon’s 4–4 draw with Premier League champion Manchester City at Stamford Bridge, among many other notable performances.
For the fifth time in a row, the 28-year-old has failed to make the Three Lions despite his steady play this season.
Sterling was once again left off of Southgate’s most recent England roster earlier this week, this time in favor of other Premier League players who have established themselves as starters for the national team.
However, Sterling’s chances of making a comeback were once more dashed when Callum Wilson and James Maddison withdrew from the squad due to injuries.
Instead, Southgate chose to call up Rico Lewis and Cole Palmer, his Chelsea teammate, for their forthcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia.
Sterling has earned 82 caps for his country but hasn’t featured in almost a year after coming on as a substitute in England’s World Cup quarter-final defeat against France.
Explaining the decision to not include Sterling, Southgate stated at the time:”The door is 100% open not only for Raheem but for other players who aren’t in this squad, there’s no doubt about that.”
However, both Richards and Shearer believe there is something behind Sterling’s omission from the national side.
Both believed he should be within the 26-man squad, but the Premier League’s all-time top scorer questioned who would be dropped from the current squad
Shearer stated: “Something must have gone on” in an interview with The Rest Is Football podcast.
However, I would return to you both and ask, “Who would you leave out for him?” Who will be left out for him when you have (Phil) Foden, (Jack) Grealish, (Marcus) Rashford, and (Bukayo) Saka?”
“It’s a very good point, but you could squeeze him in, it’s a big squad,” replied Lineker.
Richards questioned the form of the players in the current squad, pointing to Sterling as a potential replacement for Marcus Rashford of Manchester United.
“We talk about playing players in form, so Rashford hasn’t scored in the league this year.
You could squeeze him in,” he said. and Sterling has performed admirably the entire season.
Thus, picture yourself as a player for a premier club and not being selected for the England squad—something has undoubtedly gone wrong.”
Although Sterling has begun to emulate the same level of consistency at the club level, there is no doubting that the 28-year-old has been among England’s best players at international competitions.
He scored three goals during the Three Lions’ Euro 2020 campaign, and according to Lineker, his performance on the big stage will put him in the running to play in the competition in the summer of the following year.
If he isn’t on and around the squad come summertime, I’d be shocked.
Another thing about Sterling, in my opinion, is that many players don’t always show up and play at their best during competitions.
He has proven to be possibly England’s best player, especially in the last two tournaments.”
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