“I spent a lot of time with Raheem this morning,” Southgate, the national manager since 2016, said after England advanced with a 3-0 win. “You know, you have days where events happen and you have to deal with them. It’s on the way home, and we’re obviously careful to give it space.”
Sterling, an attacking midfielder who has played for Liverpool, Manchester City and now Chelsea, has been a regular sight with England since making his senior national team debut in November 2012, a month before his 18th birthday. He has played 81 games for the national team, two more than Kane after Sunday night, and has scored 20 goals, including one in the opening 6-2 win over Iran in this World Cup.
He was born in Jamaica but grew up from the age of 5 in London after his mother moved him there. According to Sterling in 2018 and other reports, his father died of gun violence in Jamaica when Raheem was 2 years old. In June 2017, Sterling made what the BBC described as “a substantial donation” to the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire in which 71 people died. dead, telling the network: “This is a deep and sad situation, one that is close to my heart and hard to swallow. I would like to help in the best way I can.”
He will be 28 years old on Thursday.
Southgate made it clear that Sterling could return to the team during this World Cup, but that is impossible to predict. England play France on Saturday in the quarter-finals.
“Our thoughts are with him and his family,” Kane said in the post-match press conference. “It’s a private matter, but it’s never easy to see one of your teammates and friends deal with something like this. We have to take it day by day. I’m sure that Raheem will talk to the manager and make the best decision for him and his family. That’s the most important thing. We send him our best wishes and hope to see him as soon as possible.”
Southgate said: “We have to give him time to try to resolve this or be there for his family. That is the most important thing at this moment, so we have to give him that space” and “make sure he has the time he has need”.
