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Furious Raheem Sterling issues blunt Gareth Southgate message after England snub
Raheem Sterling was a surprise omission from Gareth Southgate's latest England squad.
Mauricio Pochettino praises Raheem Sterling after Chelsea's win against Luton
Furious Raheem Sterling put out a terse response to Gareth Southgate’s England snub. The Chelsea winger has 82 caps but was left out of the 26-man squad for the Euro 2024 qualifier double-header against Ukrainie in Poland and Scotland.
"Raheem will revert to the coach for all comment but would like to reinforce that the decision has been respected,” his camp said in a statement. "Raheem will continue to focus on his domestic form."
It is the third camp in a row that he has not been involved with, having missed out in March through injury and then asking for time off in June to complete his recuperation.
Two goals and an assist - together with a pair of man-of-the-match awards - looked to have made Sterling a shoo-in for a recall, but Southgate sounded out the perils of knocking back that earlier invite to serve the Three Lions.
“I understood why he wanted to focus on the fitness in June and we are seeing the benefits of that now,” Southgate said. “Of course, when you are not in other people have the shirt.
“For me, it’s not…. I understand why it’s a big story but it is a position on the field where we have great competition. It is a difficult call and Raheem is not particularly happy about it but he is an excellent player."
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Sterling will be desperate to prove Southgate wrong in the Premier League, but for the time being he'll have to be patient to work his way back into the Three Lions squad.
Surprise inclusions in the squad include Jordan Henderson, who moved to Saudi Arabia recenlty, and Harry Maguire despite his lack of action at Man Utd and transfer uncertainty. There was also a first senior call-up for Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah thanks to his fine form early on in the campaign.