Raheem Sterling woke up ‘fuming’ after a PR company connected to him claimed he would captain England in their Nations League semi-final against Holland on Thursday night.
A press release, issued on behalf of Colossal Sports Management, circulated late on Tuesday evening which suggested the Manchester City forward would lead out the Three Lions to mark the occasion of his 50th cap.
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Raheem Sterling was left ‘fuming’ after a PR company connected to his management team declared he’d be captaining England against Holland
There was no official confirmation from the Football Association at the time, while manager Gareth Southgate remained tight-lipped over who would wear the armband when he addressed the media on the eve of the Holland clash.
The press release, drafted by Purple PR, read: “The Football Writers’ Footballer of the Year is set to wear the Captain’s armband for England’s UEFA Nations League semi-final fixture against The Netherlands in Portugal, on Thursday evening, 6th June.”
England vs Netherlands: kick off time and live commentary
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Gareth Southgate refused to answer who would captain his Three Lions side on Thursday evening
But Sterling insisted he knew nothing of the release and had not spoken to anyone, including Southgate, before Tuesday evening – revealing he ‘apologised’ to the England boss when he realised what had happened.
“I couldn’t tell you that,” Sterling replied when asked what had prompted the release.
“I woke up this morning fuming. I hadn’t had a conversation with Gareth or anyone in my agency, so it was a strange one to wake up to.
“The first thing I did after I came off the phone to my agent was see Gareth down the hallway, and I apologised to him for what had happened. I don’t know where that’s come from.”
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Southgate would not be drawn on who would captain his side in Guimaraes, given there are fitness concerns over regular skipper Harry Kane.
The Tottenham forward appeared jaded as he made his first start for seven weeks in Saturday’s 2-0 Champions League defeat to Liverpool.
Southgate refused to rule Kane out of the contest against the Dutch and would not give away any of his team selection in advance so as not to give Holland boss Ronald Koeman an advantage.
“If I confirm anything about the team other than that Raheem is playing, I’m doing half of Ronald’s job for him,” he said.
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“I don’t want to discuss the captaincy. Harry Kane is our captain. If he doesn’t play, then I have a decision to make. I’m not prepared to say whether Harry Kane is playing tomorrow.”
While the decision is Southgate’s to make, Sterling – who will collect his 50th cap at the age of 24 – said he would be proud to captain his country at some point.
“That’s something that’s down to the manager, not for me to decide,” he said.
“But if the manager did do that, it’s something I’d be proud and happy to do for sure. That’s up to the manager.”
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