Sterling confident of England silverware

england ec qualification england v czech republic raheem sterling

Gareth Southgate's squad made it to the semi-finals of last summer's showpiece in Russia but the Man City attacker wants more

Raheem Sterling feels England have a 'massive chance' to win silverware during his time with the national side, having been part of the Three Lions squad that finished fourth in the 2018 World Cup.

The Manchester City winger helped Gareth Southgate's revitalised side progress to the semi-finals where they were ultimately beaten by Croatia, but confidence gained by a side known for underwhelming at major tournaments was noticeable.

Indeed, while Sterling was criticised in some corners of the media for a lack of goals in Russia, the diminutive attacker remains a key cog in Southgate's England machine and has his eyes set on lifting a trophy with the national side.

“That's the ultimate, lifting a trophy with England,” Sterling told Sport360. “But we don't want to get too carried away with ourselves.

“We still have to work hard, keep working with the players that we have now and the ones who are coming through – we have a massive chance.

“We had a great World Cup campaign, but hopefully we can do better. We came so close to winning it and I was confident we could win it.

“I had seen how we had gone through, how we were playing and even if I didn't score, that was the most important thing for us.

“Forget about me on a personal level. To see the country go so far in the competition after so long, I was just happy to be a part of that.

“The next World Cup in Qatar is a long way away, but all I can do until then is get better, grow as a person, grow as a player, and when it comes around I'll think about it at that moment.”

Pep Guardiola is given a lot of credit for Sterling's continued development at City, with the 24-year-old's goal return in particular having improved under the Catalan coach.

And while Guardiola and Southgate's methods might be different, Sterling admits that there are similarities in that the managers are both adept at keeping their squads happy and united.

“It's two different teams, two different managers,” Sterling said. “But both teams enjoy working for the managers and the ideas they have.

“[Southgate] has been massive. Not just or me, but for everybody. He came into the England set-up and had a massive impact on all of us.

“A happy camp, tactics, having a real togetherness... he's been a joy to work with.”

England face the Czech Republic at home on Friday, March 22 and travel to Montengro Monday, March 25 in Euro 2020 qualifiers.

2019-03-20 12:19:00

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