Raheem Sterling’s mother has revealed how she reacted to her son scoring for England against Croatia at Euro 2020.
Sterling has endured a difficult season at Manchester City, with Pep Guardiola continually opting to leave him out of the starting XI, particularly in the bigger games.
Gareth Southgate, with England taking on Croatia in their opening Euro 2020 group fixture, did quite the opposite, starting Sterling at the expense of Jadon Sancho, Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford.
It was a decision which was met with puzzlement among the England supporters, but Sterling’s inclusion was justified by a second-half goal which secure the Three Lions all three points at Wembley.
It was a momentous moment for Sterling and his family, with the 26-year-old having scored the winning goal just a stone’s throw away from the childhood home in which he grew up.
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As reported by The Sun, his mother was so happy to see him score that she frantically got on the phone to her friends in their former North London cul-de-sac saying that she was “so happy.”
The Sun quote a family friend who said: “It was brilliant to see him score. Everyone here is thrilled.”
Major tournaments of this kind are where dreams come true – not only for the players – but also for their families. England face Scotland on Friday night, which is another opportunity for childhood dreams to be realised.
Patrik Schick has already signed and sealed the Euro 2020 goal of the tournament award – see his stunning strike here