Raheem Sterling and England show value of fearlessness in Spain | Eni Aluko

The Manchester City forward looked almost carefree in Spain and Gareth Southgate’s team need to keep this up

England delivered an impressive display against Spain on Monday and it was kickstarted by a fine opening goal from Raheem Sterling. I was delighted for him. Few, if any, players have had to put up with as much negative energy from the media in recent years as Sterling and this was his way of showing that despite it all he still has what it takes to score goals for England.

A huge part of Sterling’s burden in an England shirt has been dealing with all the critics. That is part of being a professional footballer but the scrutiny on Sterling has gone too far. I’d now like to see those who have criticised Sterling about irrelevant things such as his tattoo and his Poundland purchases give him the praise that is due from a purely footballing point of view.

Before Monday, Sterling had not scored in three years for England. That is a long time and as a forward who has also experienced a spell without scoring for England – albeit, not as long as three years – I know how difficult that can be. The shirt begins to weigh heavy and you tense up in front of goal. Worse still, you fear putting yourself in positions to score because you’re so scared of missing. I saw that from Sterling first-hand at the World Cup. He missed an easy chance in the opening game against Tunisia and then in the next game against Panama, which I was at, he was dropping deeper to get the ball rather than making the runs into space that he would otherwise do. The confidence to do so was lacking.

One way out of that rut is to provide assists. They make you feel like you’re contributing even when you’re not scoring and slowly but surely increases confidence levels. The other solution, of course, is to score and that’s what Sterling did after 16 minutes on Monday. It was an excellent finish into the top left corner, leaving David de Gea, the best goalkeeper in the world, with no chance.

As a forward, when you have not scored for a while the desire to score gets stronger and stronger and ultimately that can work against you because you are trying too hard to do what comes naturally. But then, after a while, your mindset changes. You begin to think: “F-it, I’ve got nothing to lose, I’m getting criticised anyway,” and you start hitting shots in a more relaxed, carefree way. That’s exactly how Sterling struck his first goal – with relaxed, carefree technique and a first touch away from the defender that set him up perfectly. He didn’t look tense in the slightest.

Sterling’s second goal was a tap-in but I honestly think he would have missed that chance at the World Cup. More so, he may not even have been in a position to score it. But that’s all changed following a positive return for him at club level and hopefully he now goes from strength to strength for England because there is no doubt he is a key player in Gareth Southgate’s side. His movement alone brings his teammates alive, as seen in the way Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford linked up with him in Seville.

Kane was excellent, providing two assists and proving he is the complete centre-forward. I was also pleased for Rashford. He’s had a hard time of it at Manchester United and missed key chances against Croatia on Friday so it was great for him to get a goal, and a great goal at that.

Overall, England were excellent against Spain and you have to wonder why they didn’t perform like that at the World Cup against the better football nations – Belgium and Croatia. If England played with the same confidence and maturity against Croatia in Russia I have no doubt they would have progressed to the final. After all, it was essentially the same group of players under the same manager. The formation was different on Monday – a 4-3-3 – and ultimately that may be the difference in terms of having another forward to add to England’s attack. Whatever the case, that’s the type of display we need to see from England from now on. The same possession style, swagger and cutting edge in front of goal.

Southgate echoed that sentiment after the game, speaking about how the side need to maintain their fearless approach against the big sides. That’s great but it’s important to remember playing without fear needs to actually look like something. It’s not just about charging out of the traps and making loads of tackles. Rather, it’s about creating a framework in which individuality can shine. We saw that from England in Seville – they played like a team but in that team there were some real flourishes, from the front three but also from players such as Ross Barkley and Jordan Pickford.

Yes, Pickford got carried away in the incident that could have, and arguably should have, led to a penalty, but I’d rather see overconfidence than a lack of confidence from England players when they’re in possession. Pickford’s fantastic pass to Kane in the buildup to England’s first goal, with a perfect trajectory, epitomised the confidence England players in possession, from back to front.

I also took a lot of encouragement from how England celebrated their goals. It wasn’t overdone, which was the case when we beat Germany 5-1 all those years ago. Back then the players looked almost shocked at how well they were doing, whereas on Monday there was a quiet assurance from Sterling, Rashford and Kane whenever a goal went it, as if they were saying: “Yes, of course, this is what we’re capable of – we are World Cup semi-finalists.”

That stems from the confidence and belief Southgate has instilled in his players and from the quietly assured way in which he carries himself. It’s great news that he has signed a contract extension with the Football Association as I can only see the national side having a bright future under him.

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That is a future which will no doubt include Jadon Sancho. I was really excited about seeing him play for England and he did not disappoint with his cameo against Croatia. He was bright and dangerous and looked every part an international footballer.

I’ve heard people say Sancho won’t face the type of scrutiny most talented young England players get because he’s at Borussia Dortmund, but I seriously doubt that. More people than ever will now be checking to see how he’s doing for Dortmund. But that’s part and parcel of being an England international and of being at a big club – you’re under a spotlight. The key is to react in the right way. That’s what Sterling did against Spain and what I’m sure Sancho will do in the months and years to come.

Contributor

Eni Aluko

The GuardianTramp

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