Raheem Sterling has been one of the success stories of Liverpool’s season and on Saturday night made his mark on the World Cup with an impressive performance in England’s 2-1 defeat to Italy. Along with Danny Welbeck, he worked tirelessly tracking back into midfield putting pressure on the Italians and then attacking them with pace and causing lots of problems. Not afraid to shoot either, his third minute effort was so close, as it rippled the side netting it caused many England fans to celebrate thinking he had scored, including the BBC graphics department who prematurely updated the on screen score to show England 1-0 up.
However as the second half progressed Sterling, along with the rest of the England side, started to wilt in the heat and humidity of Manaus. He still worked hard for the team but it was evident that like many others the conditions were taking their toll on the players as the game petered out instead of finishing with a bang.
With Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin currently injured, Raheem Sterling represents one of England’s most dynamic players, with the pace and skill to trouble any team at the World Cup. However this is supposedly the ultimate football tournament, and as such has on show some of the best defenders currently playing the game and as such every advantage must be pressed and taken. Given the trouble Sterling caused the Italian defence in the opening stages, one can only imagine the problems they would have had with Sterling’s pace in the closing stages. With hot heads and tired legs the Italians would not have coped well with Stirling in the final 20 minutes in Manaus and the result on Saturday may have been a different one.
With Uruguay coming up for England on Thursday, most pundits are arguing on whether or not Roy Hodgson should drop Wayne Rooney after his defensive struggles out on England’s left flank. However if Hodgson wants to utilize his squad to its full effectiveness perhaps he should consider leaving one of England’s better performers from Saturday on the bench.
By starting either Adam Lallana or Ross Barkley against Uruguay England could better utilize Wayne Rooney by playing him in the number 10 role that Sterling excelled in on Saturday night, tidying up the left flank which was a cause of concern for England from Saturday, and allow Lallana or Barkley to wear down the Uruguayan defenders before bringing on a fresh Stirling for the final third of the match to terrorise a tired defensive unit. Should Oxlade-Chamberlin be fit as well on Thursday Hodgson would have the option to play either Stirling or Oxlade-Chamberlin from the start and then interchange them to keep the pressure on Uruguay, or to bring them both on from the bench to take on the Uruguayans tired legs as a tandem.
Raheem Sterling’s performance on Saturday was one that showed he is an International class player and suggestion he be placed on the bench for the next game should in no way take anything away from his performance as one of England’s best players on the night, however he can be even more deadly at this World Cup coming on when opposition legs are tiring and less able to cope with the pace and guile he showed on Saturday night. One thing Sterling showed was that he has a bright future as part of the national set-up and that is someone that defenders will be very aware off both in the rest of the World Cup and in the future both with Liverpool and England.
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