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LONDON — There was a time when it appeared Raheem Sterling was under threat from Jack Grealish at both club and international level.
Grealish was Manchester City‘s shiny summer acquisition, costing a British-record £100 million transfer fee after thriving in an advanced left-sided position at Aston Villa that Sterling has also excelled in. Sterling started just three of City’s opening nine Premier League games with Grealish preferred, triggering fears a peripheral role under Pep Guardiola could jeopardise his England place given the attacking riches Gareth Southgate has at his disposal.
Yet Sterling responded to that challenge by forcing his way back into the fold at City, once again becoming a key part of a team pursuing another Premier League title, and Tuesday’s 3-0 friendly win over Ivory Coast at Wembley was a reminder of the importance he holds for Southgate.
Sterling was selected in the Euro 2020 team of the tournament after consistently impressing in England’s run to the final, often from a right-sided berth of a 4-3-3 shape — where he also began here — in part to accommodate Grealish on the opposite flank. Grealish was utilised as an impact substitute in that tournament, and the desire among many England fans for Southgate to make more use of the flair within his ranks can be distilled into the clamour to give his £100m man more game time.
Bukayo Saka‘s fine season at Arsenal has strengthened his claims while Phil Foden‘s form at City makes a palpable case for his inclusion. Jarrod Bowen has played a starring role for West Ham United and would surely have been given a chance had injury not ruled him out, leaving Sterling theoretically vulnerable to several challengers to operate in the two wide positions either side of Harry Kane. Yet on his first England start of the calendar year, Sterling responded to that situation with a goal and assist, seemingly rising further to the responsibility of taking the captaincy for the night, only the third time he has worn the armband from the outset.
“It is a great privilege and never in my wildest imagination as a young player coming through did I think I would captain England one day,” Sterling told Sky Sports after the match. “It comes with maturity the manager sees in you, the passion and love I have for the country.
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“I always have this thing where I remember me coming through as young player and it is nice when senior players put their arm around you. It is a new environment and all we can do is make sure the new ones feel as comfortable as possible.”
Each contribution showcased different aspects of Sterling’s all-round game, punctuating a performance made more impressive by the fact he suffered a dead leg in the first minute that he revealed afterwards “got stiffer as the game went on.”
Half an hour into a match England were dominating, Sterling kept an attack alive by anticipating Eric Bailly‘s interception. Sterling then turned and beat Serge Aurier with ease before nutmegging Bailly with a cross that Ollie Watkins tapped home from close range. He couldn’t miss.
After Aurier received a second yellow card — seemingly for dissent — Watkins held the ball up well to release Sterling on one of his trademark driving forward runs. Sterling’s first shot was saved but a clever pass from Grealish into his path gave him a second chance and a low finish followed for his 19th international goal. Seventeen of those have come from his past 28 caps.
Grealish needs to rediscover his best form in the months ahead, but right now he is the one vulnerable to Saka, Foden and the chasing pack when everyone is available for England, not Sterling.
The second half descended into a sea of substitutions, largely sterile possession and crowd-made paper aeroplanes, before Tyrone Mings headed home a third in stoppage-time. Jude Bellingham impressed in midfield, continuing to exhibit a level of composure far beyond his teenage years, while Harry Maguire recovered from a troubled start in which his name was booed as the teams were announced before kick-off and his first touch jeered in a reflection, presumably, of his travails at Manchester United.
The challenge facing Maguire is to recover his form at club level to assuage any concerns over his England status. He might want to talk to Sterling about how it is done.