Raheem Srerling was unable to celebrate together with his teammates the resounding victory against Senegal (3-0). The Chelsea footballer was dropped from the England squad in the World Cup round of 16 match after he learned armed robbers had broken into his London home.
According to English media reports, Sterling flew to England on Sunday out of concern for what his family has had to experience. "I can't tell you at the moment," manager Gareth Southgate said on ITV, when asked if Sterling will return to England's camp. "It's a situation that he has to resolve with his family."
"I don't want to put any kind of pressure on him. Sometimes football is not the most important thing, family comes first," said the English coach. Sterling dropped out of the squad against Senegal at the last minute and the English federation alluded to "personal reasons".
Harry Kane, in statements to the same television channel, sent support to both him and his family and assured that, although it is a "private matter", it is never easy to see a partner in this situation. "We'll see how he evolves day by day. I'm sure Raheem will talk to the coach and make the best decision for him and his family. That's the most important thing. We send him our encouragement and hope to see him as soon as possible," added the captain. .
The Three Lions coach was asked about the absence of Raheem Sterling, who had to leave the squad after suffering an armed robbery at his London home, where his family was.
"I spoke to Raheem this morning and he's on his way home. He needs space. We want to respect him and not go into too many details. It's not the ideal situation for the group before a big game, but it's meaningless at a time like this for him."
Sterling started the first two games for the England team. In the win against Iran (6-2) he scored and distributed an assist. However, in the uncontested victory on matchday three against the Welsh (0-3) he stayed on the bench for the entire game.
