Raheem Sterling will miss England’s World Cup last 16 tie against Senegal due to a “family matter” with Gareth Southgate unwilling to confirm whether or not he will return to the squad should the Three Lions reach the last eight.
Sterling started in England‘s first two group matches of the tournament, scoring a goal and providing an assist in the 6-2 win against Iran in the opening game before featuring in the 0-0 draw with the USA.
In his absence, Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden were selected on the flanks in support of captain Harry Kane.
“He’s dealing with a family matter,” Southgate told ITV. “I’ve had quite a bit of time with him this morning but I’ve now had to pass that on to other people to help him with that.”
When asked by ITV’s touchline reporter Gabriel Clarke whether Sterling will stay with the squad if they progress, Southgate responded: “He’s going to go and deal with that matter and then we’ll have to take it from there really.”
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Although Sterling has struggled for consistency at club level over the past couple of seasons, he has been an integral figure for England, particularly during the Southgate era. So much so that he has started in England’s last nine knockout matches stretching back to Euro 2016.
While losing the 27-year-old is a blow given he is one of England’s most experienced players, Southgate has plenty of attacking options to pick from, with Saka, Foden, Rashford, Jack Grealish and James Maddison all able to play out wide.
Saka, Foden, Rashford and Grealish all scored during the group stage.
“It’s a good position to be in,” Southgate said of his selection dilemma in attack. “You want your players in confident mood and our forward players are.
“Of course you want to try to make the best possible decision, but in some respects I’m not sure there’s a right or a wrong. Whichever players we start with, we’re going to need the bench, we need the strength.
“They all offer different attributes and it’s just trying to get the balance of the team right and make the best possible decisions.
“But for us it’s great that we’ve got the whole squad fit and available, feeling good about themselves, but with that nice balance of knowing how difficult it was to get through this round in our last two tournaments.
“We know the quality of the opposition, but we’ve got belief in ourselves as well.”
England team to play Senegal (4-3-3): Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Henderson, Rice, Bellingham; Sake, Foden, Kane.
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