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Raheem Sterling admitted he was “fuming” after his management company claimed he would captain England in Thursday’s Nations League semi-final against the Netherlands.
A press release circulated on Tuesday evening suggested the Manchester City forward would lead out his country on the occasion of his 50th cap.
But Sterling said such information had not come from him.
“I hadn’t had a conversation with anyone in my agency,” he said.
“I woke up this morning fuming. The first thing I did after I came off the phone to my agent was see Gareth [England manager Southgate] down the hallway, and I apologised to him for what had happened. I don’t know where that’s come from.”
Southgate remained tight-lipped over who would wear the armband when he addressed the media on the eve of the game in Guimaraes, Portugal.
“Harry Kane is our captain. If Harry doesn’t play I have a decision to make,” Southgate said. “At this moment in time, I’m not prepared to do that.
“If I confirmed anything about the team other than Raheem playing I would be doing half of Ronald’s [Dutch boss Koeman] job for him.
“If I tell you Harry Kane’s playing, I’m giving Ronald half the team as well.”
Midfielder Jordan Henderson was the only absentee as England trained before flying to Portugal.
Liverpool’s Henderson, one of seven England players involved in Saturday’s Champions League final in Madrid, is following an individual training plan.
Matthijs de Ligt and Virgil van Dijk are in line to start for the Dutch.
Portugal and Switzerland play the other semi-final in Porto on Wednesday, with the final and third-place play-off on Sunday.
Another step in England’s development?
Southgate did admit that his preparations had been interrupted by the Champions League final, but that this is the norm for an international manager.
“It’s been a strange, different sort of preparation but every time you get together, there are always complications of some sort,” he said.
“We lost eight players with injury in March [for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Montenegro] and young players came in and played brilliantly. We’ve shown incredible adaptability and resilience as a team.
“I have to assess all the players who were involved in Madrid. It was a unique game and set of circumstances, whether you won or lost, there are emotional and physical implications, and the fact they only arrived on Tuesday and there’s been a lot of tactical work to be done.”
While this may not be a World Cup or a European Championship, two victories would be enough to crown England as the inaugural winners of the Nations League.
It would also provide an England senior side with a first piece of major silverware since winning the World Cup in 1966.
And it represents the chance for Southgate’s side to show they have matured into winners after reaching the World Cup semi-finals in 2018.
“We want to be in the habit of winning things,” he added.
“Last summer we didn’t have a free hit because, when you play for England, there’s no free hit at anything but there was no expectation.
“We weren’t as progressed as a team. Now we’ve gained confidence from getting to the semi-finals. We didn’t want that to be the end and we have players who are capable and hungry and want to go on and win things.”
‘When you win, you’re not tired’
Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman says he expects Van Dijk and Georginio Wijnaldum to both face England after chatting to them about their fitness over a coffee.
Having helped Liverpool to victory in the Champions League final on Saturday, the duo only reported for international duty on Tuesday.
“I wanted to check on their physical and mental state, and then I had a choice,” Koeman said.
“When you win, you’re not tired. I’ve experienced that.
“Both were so confident and optimistic about the match but, if all goes well in training, I’ll be lining up with my strongest team. They both belong to that XI.”
One of Koeman’s first acts after being named as Netherlands manager in February 2018 was to appoint Van Dijk as his captain, as he rebuilt after failures to qualify for Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup.
After starting with a 1-0 loss to England in Amsterdam, the Dutch have lost only two of their 11 games since.
Koeman says he adopted a similar blueprint as Southgate in handing greater responsibility to emerging young players.
“That was an example for the Dutch team, how they processed the squad, gave chances to young players,” he added.
“It’s not by chance they are fourth in the world rankings. That’s why I spoke about Southgate doing a fantastic job. We were the lesser of the two teams when we played last time. But we’re closer now, and have a better chance of winning [on Thursday].”
Analysis: England favourites to edge semi-final
Simon Gleave, head of sports analysis, Gracenote:
Gracenote’s forecast for the remaining four Nations League matches gives Gareth Southgate’s side a slight advantage against the Netherlands in their semi-final, with a 53% chance of progressing.
However, Portugal are the overall favourites to win the competition. The hosts have a 59% chance of beating Switzerland and a 35% chance of winning Sunday’s final.
Portugal play the lowest ranked of the four finalists, Switzerland, in Wednesday’s semi-final with their hopes of success boosted by home advantage.
England squad
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland (Stoke), Tom Heaton (Burnley), Jordan Pickford (Everton).
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Ben Chilwell (Leicester), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Michael Keane (Everton), Harry Maguire (Leicester), Danny Rose (Tottenham), John Stones (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Manchester City).
Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham), Ross Barkley (Chelsea), Fabian Delph (Manchester City), Eric Dier (Tottenham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Declan Rice (West Ham).
Strikers: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Callum Wilson (Bournemouth).
Netherlands squad
Goalkeepers: Jasper Cillessen (Barcelona), Kenneth Vermeer (Feyenoord), Marco Bizot (AZ Alkmaar).
Defenders: Hans Hateboer (Atalanta), Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Nathan Ake (Bournemouth), Patrick van Aanholt (Crystal Palace), Stefan de Vrij (Internazionale), Daley Blind (Ajax), Denzel Dumfries (PSV Eindhoven)
Midfielders: Davy Propper (Brighton), Georginio Wijnaldum (Liverpool), Ryan Babel (Fulham), Marten de Roon (Atalanta), Kevin Strootman (Marseille), Tonny Vilhena (Feyenoord), Donny van de Beek (Ajax), Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forwards: Steven Bergwijn (PSV Eindhoven), Memphis Depay (Lyon), Quincy Promes (Spartak Moscow), Luuk de Jong (PSV Eindhoven)
MATCH FACTS
Head-to-head
- England have won only two of their past 14 matches against the Netherlands (D7 L5) and are looking to win consecutively against them for the first time since November 1946 under Walter Winterbottom.
- The Netherlands have only just one of their five competitive matches against England (W2, D2), although that defeat came in their last such match at Euro 96 when England won 4-1.
- Gareth Southgate is looking to become the first England manager to win more than once against the Netherlands in all competitions.
England
- England are unbeaten in seven matches (W6 D1), winning the last five in a row. The Three Lions last won six consecutive games back in March 2015 under Roy Hodgson (7).
- England have scored five goals in each of their past two matches, beating the Czech Republic (5-0) and Montenegro (5-1); they last netted 5+ goals in three consecutive games between November 1960 and May 1961.
- Harry Kane has been directly involved in 34% of the 59 goals scored by England under Southgate (17 goals, three assists); a higher share than any of his team-mates.
- After netting just two goals in his first 45 games for England, Raheem Sterling has since scored six goals in his last four appearances for the Three Lions. Sterling, who is set to make his 50th appearance in this match, has scored with six of his last seven shots on target for England.
Netherlands
- The Netherlands lost their last game 3-2 against Germany. They have not suffered consecutive competitive defeats since September 2015 under manager Danny Blind.
- The Netherlands have won just one of their previous nine matches played in Portugal (W1 D4 L4), beating Latvia at Euro 2004 (3-0) under Dick Advocaat.
- Dutch forward Memphis Depay has had a hand in 21 goals in his last 20 games in all.
