Raheem Sterling says Euro 2020 will feel different for England to other tournaments he's been to - in part thanks to the fact that it's at home.
Sterling has been to three major tournaments with the Three Lions - in Brazil, France and Russia - but speaking to FourFourTwo exclusively for the Euro 2020 issue, the Manchester City forward says that he's looking forward to England being based at St. George's Park this time around.
“To come prepared for it, like you’re at home,” Sterling told FFT. “I’d say that was the toughest part for me – the time away – so come prepared like you’re going to be at home, get ready and cosy, and spend a lot more time outside of my bedroom than at previous tournaments. My first tournament in 2014 was hard for that, and also the last one, in 2018.”
“I’m a guy who likes my space, so the first thing for me to do is just go up to my room and watch a series. After a while that gets a bit boring, a bit tough, but you bring it on yourself. It’s not that I don’t want to be hanging out with my team-mates; it’s just something that I’ve always done from when I was young.
“St George’s Park is a familiar place, so that will definitely help. I find it hard to be away from home, but I need to be more social and enjoy the stuff away from football, enjoying every day with the team. That will help me in matches, because then you’re more relaxed. Don’t be stuck inside a room, all by yourself, thinking. Be in a relaxed environment, having a laugh.”
Sterling was given the No.10 shirt during the last World Cup and has since captained his country on a number of occasions in Harry Kane's absence. Although England reached the semi-finals of the tournament though, Sterling told FFT that he certainly felt as if he had more to give.
“Personally, I’ve now played at three tournaments for England and that one was the hardest to take. Mentally I was in the best place of my career and I had big expectations of myself. I believed I could have brought a lot more to the team.
While Kane scored six times to collect the Golden Boot, Sterling failed to find the net, and he’s still beating himself up about it.
“That’s what I judge my performances on – that’s what I’m there to do for the team,” he says. “The defenders and goalkeeper are there to stop goals, and I’m there to score goals, so of course I wasn’t very happy that I didn’t. We played well as a team, but if I tell myself I had a good tournament, where’s the room for improvement?”
Read the full interview with Raheem Sterling in the new issue of FourFourTwo, out now
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