Football news - Gareth Southgate hails ‘electric’ Raheem Sterling
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ByEurosport
Updated 22/03/2019 at 22:26 GMT
England manager Gareth Southgate has praised Raheem Sterling for being “electric all night” during the 5-0 victory over the Czech Republic on Friday.
England's manager Gareth Southgate (R) congratulates England's midfielder Raheem Sterling after substituting him during the UEFA Euro 2020 Group A qualification football match between England and Czech Replublic at Wembley Stadium in London on March 22, 2
Image credit: Getty Images
Manchester City forward Sterling netted his first hat-trick for his country in a dominant performance, and he took his tally to 25 for the season in all competitions.
Speaking after the match Southgate was full of praise for the forward saying "I thought Raheem was electric all night.
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England's midfielder Raheem Sterling celebrates after scoring his third goal, their fourth during the UEFA Euro 2020 Group A qualification football match between England and Czech Replublic at Wembley Stadium in London on March 22, 2019
Image credit: Getty Images
“He has looked like that all week in training. I'm pleased for him, it is a special night for him.
I think he's really matured as a person and a footballer. He's hungry for goals and hitting things instinctively without thinking too much.
Sterling himself hailed the performance of the team and pointed to the first goal, a wonderful move that saw ten out of the eleven England players touch the ball, as his favourite.
"It was a beautiful team performance and I was happy to help the team get the win.
“I'm just being confident in myself, I'm trying to get in areas and take shots, not to worry about anything. The first goal pleased me most, to get myself up and running."
England caused their opponents all sort of problems with Sterling, Jadon Sancho and Harry Kane moving intelligently and linking up well.
That approach continued when Chelsea youngster Callum Hudson-Odoi came on for his debut and Southgate spoke afterwards about how pleased he was with the team’s approach.
"We've got exciting wide players, we saw the two young boys (Jadon Sancho and Callum Hudson-Odoi) as well, so it gets our good offensive players on the field and higher up the field."
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