Gareth Southgate will announce his final selection on Wednesday afternoon for the European Championship qualifiers against Malta (June 16) and North Macedonia (June 19). Major absentee could just become Raheem Sterling. The attacker has been struggling with a dip in form since he made the switch from Manchester City to Chelsea last summer and is in doubt according to English media.
If Southgate announces his selection at 2 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, it could very well be that Sterling will not be part of the final selection squad. The winger has had a difficult first season at Chelsea and is clearly struggling with adjustment issues. The historically poor performance of the Blueswho currently occupy twelfth place in the Premier League, do not exactly contribute to this.
Although Sterling built a strong relationship with Southgate during his time with the national team, his selection has come under serious scrutiny. The 52-year-old national coach has shown in the past that he is not afraid to leave big names out of the selection if he believes that taking a rest is better. For example, he left Jordan Henderson out of the selection last summer after a grueling season. The Liverpool midfielder went on to play a key role in the World Cup.
Sterling was also not included in the squad for the first European Championship qualifiers against Ukraine and Italy in March due to an injury. Southgate indicated at the time that he would have selected the winger if he had been fit. Sterling has made 37 appearances in all competitions since joining Chelsea. He was accurate 9 times and acted as declarant 4 times. For the national team he has 82 games, 20 goals and 27 assists.
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