Sterling left out of England squad for final Euro qualifiers

LONDON: Gareth Southgate said the door was still “100 percent” open for Raheem Sterling after leaving the Chelsea forward out of England’s squad for their final Euro 2024 qualifiers.
Southgate, whose side are already assured of their place in the tournament in Germany next year, named a 25-man group on Thursday for a home match against Malta on November 17 and a trip to North Macedonia three days later.
Sterling, who has 82 caps and 20 goals for England, has not played for the national team since last year’s World Cup in Qatar, where England reached the quarter-finals.
“The door is 100 percent open not only for Raheem but for other players,” said Southgate. “There’s no doubt about that.
“We don’t need to know about his quality, his personality.

He is a crucial part of why we’ve had the journey we’ve had over the last few years.”
The England boss said it was tough to leave in-form players out to accommodate Sterling, 28, who has scored four goals for Chelsea this season.
“He wasn’t available in March or June and the team started on a good run,” he said. “We won in Italy for the first time in 60 years, the two performances in June were excellent, so we stuck with that group,” he added.
“There is no question Raheem is looking dangerous for his club, he looks invigorated since the start of the season.