Raheem Sterling says he will continue to strive for an England recall and is calm over his ongoing exclusion from the squad.
The Chelsea winger has not been involved with the national team since the World Cup in Qatar last year, initially because of injury and fitness concerns in the latter part of last season.
Gareth Southgate has overlooked him since the beginning of this campaign – not selecting him for the September fixtures against Ukraine and Scotland or the matches against Australia and Italy this month.
Speaking for the first time about the situation, Sterling made clear he was still thinking about the Euro 2024 finals in Germany next summer. England qualified with their 3-1 win over Italy at Wembley on Tuesday.
“Of course, England is still very important for me,” he said. “It is a massive year for England with the players we’ve got but, like every other day, you just keep working, keep striving and what will be will be. Mentally, it is all good. Life is great. I have a beautiful family, so what more can I ask for?”
Southgate has plenty of options in the wide attacking areas; principally Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish. He has used James Maddison off the left wing and has also picked Eberechi Eze and Jarrod Bowen ahead of Sterling of late. The manager said he had spoken to Sterling before his omission in September but not this month.
Sterling, capped 82 times, has immersed himself in rediscovering his best form for Chelsea and also in the work of the Raheem Sterling Foundation. He appeared at an event for it on Wednesday at the National Portrait Gallery in London, where he met young students he is helping.
Sterling’s foundation has a partnership with King’s College London and the University of Manchester, which will lead to the granting of 14 scholarships (seven per university) over the next three years for young people of Black, African and Caribbean heritage from socio-economically underrepresented backgrounds.
