The Three Lions boss is making a rod for his own back with a contradictory selection policy that is shafting on-form players
England have already qualified for Euro 2024. All the Three Lions need to do in facile fixtures against Malta and North Macedonia is ensure that they will be one of the top seeds in next month's finals draw in Germany.
Fair to say, then, that this could have been a relatively boring international break for England fans – had Gareth Southgate not once again inexplicably overlooked Raheem Sterling, with Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Jarrod Bowen the chosen widemen.
The absence of the Chelsea winger from a fifth consecutive squad hasn't just caused controversy; it's provoked all sorts of speculation surrounding Sterling and Southgate.
Getty'Something has definitely happened'
Both Alan Shearer and Michah Richards are convinced that "something has definitely happened" behind the scenes that we don't yet know about, while Rio Ferdinand has even issued a public plea to "free Raheem Sterling!"
"I don't know what he's done, whose nose he's put out of joint," the former Manchester United defender said on the podcast. "Was it him coming back from the tournament or something like that?"
Ferdinand was obviously alluding to the fact that Sterling briefly returned to England during last year's World Cup because of a burglary at his family home – and that kind of conjecture does a great disservice to Southgate, who was very supporting of the attacker at the time. However, while such talk is unhelpful, and potentially harmful, it's also inevitable in the circumstances, given Southgate's Sterling snub makes zero sense.
AdvertisementGettyOut of favour
There's absolutely no denying that Sterling made a somewhat subdued start to his Chelsea career, after his high-profile move from Manchester City in the summer of 2022, but he still travelled to Qatar as a trusted member of Southgate's line-up, only to lose his starting spot by the time England were eliminated in the quarter-finals.
Injury ruled him out of the start of the start of the qualification campaign for the Euros, in March, but it was nonetheless a surprise to see him overlooked for the June clashes with Malta and North Macedonia.
Sterling may have endured a difficult debut season at Stamford Bridge, but Southgate has become renowned for picking players performing poorly at club level simply because they have served him well in the past.
GettyOne rule for one…
Harry Maguire continued to be called up even while spending most of his time on the bench at Old Trafford, Jordan Henderson is still in the squad even though he's now struggling in Saudi Arabia, while it's a complete farce that Kalvin Phillips has held onto his place given he's barely got a run-out for Manchester City in the past two years.
Phillips undeniably played a key role in England's run to the final of Euro 2020 – but why hasn't Sterling benefited from the same level of loyalty given he was arguably his country's best player at the tournament?
GettyDon't change a winning team?
Southgate has argued that the "landscape" has changed; that the competition for places, particularly in attack, is now fiercer than ever before. However, when asked to explain why Sterling had been omitted from the England squad for the October internationals, he pointed out that the likes of Ollie Watkins and Jarrod Bowen were "both in a hot streak of form". "That's the thinking," the manager explained.
But this time around, he effectively admitted that he was reluctant to change a winning team. "I can only repeat what I've said in the last few squad selection meetings," he said. "The team is playing really well. It's as simple as that, really.
"[Raheem] wasn't available in March or June and the team started on a good run. We won in Italy for the first time in 60 years, while the two performances in June were excellent, so we stuck with that group."
