Raheem Sterling will miss England’s World Cup Round of 16 match against Senegal for personal reasons. As will become clear after the game: The attacker is back in England because armed men have broken into his home at home.
England international Raheem Sterling is leaving the World Cup in Qatar for personal reasons. This was reported by Gareth Southgate on Sunday after the 3-0 win over Senegal in the round of 16. According to consistent media reports, armed people broke into Sterling’s home home. The exact circumstances of the incident are still unclear, according to information from ESPN Sterling’s girlfriend Paige and two of his three children are in Qatar while his mother is said to be back in London.
The attacker was therefore not in the squad of the Three Lions in the victory over the African champions. “It didn’t affect the team selection. I spent a lot of time with Raheem this morning. You know there are days when something happens and you have to deal with it. He’s on his way home and we’re obviously keen to give him space and respect his privacy, so we won’t go into too much detail,” said national team manager Gareth Southgate after the game. “Obviously it’s not ideal for the group before a big game, but that fades into insignificance. In moments like this, the individual is more important than the group. I had to take care of the situation and then I had to pass that on to others who care take care of him this afternoon to take him home.”
England captain Kane said of Sterling: “Our thoughts are with him and his family. It’s a private matter but it’s never easy when one of your team-mates and friends is struggling with something like this.” Whether the Chelsea striker can intervene again during the tournament, which continues for England on Saturday in the quarter-finals against world champions France, remains to be seen. “We’ll have to see and wait. Sometimes football isn’t the most important thing and family should come first,” said Southgate.
Sterling is the second player to leave the England squad after Arsenal defender Ben White, who returned to Britain on 30 November for personal reasons. Two years ago, three burglars were sentenced to prison for targeting a number of houses in north-west England, including an attempted break-in at Sterling’s then home in Cheshire in November 2018.