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LONDON. — England have Raheem Sterling to thank for their trip to Rome today for their Euro 2020 quarter-final against Ukraine.
And, they are now favourites to go on and reach a European Championship final for the first time.
The match kicks-off at 9pm.
The Manchester City star is playing in his fourth major tournament but his talent, until now, had not been fully appreciated by the England support.
A precocious young player, when England crashed out at the group stage of the 2014 World Cup, Sterling was one of the fall guys two years later, as Roy Hodgson’s side exited Euro 2016, in embarrassing fashion against Iceland.
On social media, Sterling branded himself “The Hated One” during that tournament and he had to deal with negative stories in the press about his perceived lavish lifestyle and other issues.
He did not forget that treatment.
In 2018, months after helping England reach the semi-finals of the World Cup despite failing to score, Sterling was racially abused while playing for Manchester City away to Chelsea.
Sterling took to Instagram to challenge media organisations for their portrayal of young black players, claiming it was fuelling “racism and aggressive behaviour”.
“He is a fighter,” said coach Gareth Southgate. “He has got an incredible resilience and hunger.
”He has developed over the last couple of years this real hunger to score.His drive is fantastic. We know the journey he has been on with England and I am so happy for him to be able to deliver the performances he has.”
After scoring just twice in his first 45 England games, against minnows Estonia and Lithuania, Sterling now has 15 in his past 20 games for his country.
Born in Jamaica, Sterling moved to England as a five-year-old and grew up in the shadow of the new Wembley stadium as it was constructed.
See off Ukraine at the Stadio Olimpico and England will be back in Sterling’s backyard next week for a semi-final against Denmark or the Czech Republic in front of 60 000 fans as coronavirus restrictions are further relaxed. — AFP
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter