We’ve been here before: on the eve of a major tournament, with debate raging over whether Raheem Sterling deserves his place in the England team.
While his record at international level and at major finals remains impressive, his club form for Chelsea is not making much of a case for his inclusion with the World Cup only two weeks away.
Sterling has scored twice in the Champions League since the start of September but, after failing to have a shot during Sunday’s defeat by Arsenal, he has now gone 596 minutes without a Premier League goal or assist, a run dating back to the end of August.
It hardly helps that he has not had a settled role, either. Whether it be wing-back, winger or striker, Blues manager Graham Potter appears unsure of how to get the best out of the 27-year-old, or even what his best position is.
“I still rate Raheem very highly but he looks a little lost,” said former England defender Micah Richards, who watched Sterling against the Gunners for MOTD2.
“It’s like he is a bit frustrated in terms of Chelsea’s set-up and, tactically, does not know what they want him to do.”
Sterling also had a difficult time before last year’s European Championship, when his goals dried up for City and he found himself benched for their biggest games.
Southgate stayed loyal, however, and Sterling repaid him by scoring three goals to help England reach the final, and earn himself a place in the team of the tournament too.
Will the Three Lions boss do the same this time, when he picks his side to face Iran in their opening game in Qatar on 21 November?
“You want your players to be in form, of course, but I think Gareth will stick with him this time too, and I can understand why after what he has done for him in the past,” Richards said.
“All season he has not been playing great but at least he is playing a lot, which is what he wanted when he left City.
“I would start him against Iran too, as part of a front three with Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane. He deserves that faith, after what he has done for England in the past.
“Let’s see how he does in the first game, and assess it after that. If he does nothing, then it might be time to rotate.
“But we have seen before how Raheem has responded after basically being written off for England, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him remind everyone just how good he is.”
