Sterling was part of the England team that worked to a goalless draw against Scotland on Friday, a performance that drew boos from the Wembley crowd late in the game and strong criticism from elsewhere, including several former England players.
But the City forward believes there has been a “panic” from outside the camp and insists his squad knows not to listen to outside noise.
“I feel like there’s a general overreaction in terms of I don’t know if it’s … I feel like there’s more panic outside than inside the building,” he said.
“At the same time, the players who have been to some tournaments, who have a lot of experience, try to help others.
“I don’t see anyone in camp feeling pressure or feeling badly done.
“As far as we can inside the building, the best we can do is focus on the training ground and focus on what’s going on inside.
“We really shouldn’t be looking at what the newspapers are saying, what the experts are saying. That is something we must take for the rest of this tournament, the more you hear outside noise, the more it will affect you.
“If you are not really investigating that, it is better for you as an individual and also as a collective.
“We really don’t, I’m not saying it’s negativity on the outside, but we don’t want negativity to creep in and performance levels go down, and confidence levels go down, and that’s all it will do.”
On the boos from the Wembley crowd, he added: “I feel like the fans have an expectation of us with the players we have on the team and that’s how it is.
“But as you can see in the different matches of the tournament, not only in our group but also in other groups, it is difficult in international football. It’s not as easy as people think. “
Despite the disappointment on Friday night, England will top Group D with a win over the Czech Republic.
Winning the group will guarantee a round of 16 tie at Wembley, although it will be against France, Germany or Portugal.
Finishing second would offer an easier game on paper, albeit in Copenhagen, and Sterling says home advantage could be crucial.
“There is always an advantage being at home, that’s for sure,” he said.
“With the fans really looking forward to it and making it a hostile place, I think it can be a good advantage and as I say we have four points, I keep emphasizing that we have four points and we have a game to go and we are going to need our fans. Tuesday to cross the line.
“We haven’t talked about that (the permutations of finishing second).
“The objective is to try to win the group and that’s it.”
Sterling, meanwhile, has admitted that he was “unhappy” with his lack of playing time at Manchester City last season.
Sterling has been linked to a departure from the Premier League champions after finding themselves on the bench on several occasions towards the end of the 2020-21 campaign, including the Champions League quarter-finals and semi-finals.
But the 26-year-old has been a key figure for the Three Lions in their first two European Championship games, scoring the winning goal against Croatia last week.
And Sterling attributes his form to doing what he loves the most.
“It’s just happiness, just being happy, enjoying my football and that’s what I’m doing being here with the national team,” he said.
“If you are not playing, you are not happy.
“That is me, that is me since I was a child, if I play soccer I am very happy, if I am not happy.”
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Source: www.yorkshirepost.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-06-20 21:55:46
