That’s unfair on Sterling. He plays in a different role at Man City and even Sané struggled in the German setup — international football is played a lot deeper so players in that mould get less chances all together.
Yesterday, Sterling was our most threatening player, his pace constantly put Sweden on the back foot and forced throw-ins, corners and freekicks from nothing over this campaign. I was reading some stats after the Colombia game, and we have far less completed dribbles per game than France, Belgium, Brazil and Sterling was by far ahead for us. Take him out of the team, and no one is carrying the ball. Coincidently, our main strength is set plays (by far the best in the competition) and one thing Kane and Sterling have done very well is drawing fouls so we can put Stones and Maguire up in the opposition box. A goal would have topped things off for Sterling, but yesterday was a vindication for Southgate in keeping faith in Alli and Sterling. The more reliable pundits have praised Sterling for his performance.
To put this example into a Cov perspective, Bayliss was such a revelation for us because he carried the ball, something that was missing in our team after Jones got injured. You have to have at least one main dribbler in your team.
Back to England, we need to create more chances for Kane though. Before the Sweden game, he averaged 3 shots a game (including penalties) and his Spurs average is 5 shots each game. He is our match winner and frankly, to stand a chance in the final (if we get there) we’ll probably need him to score.
