Raheem Sterling shows his value to deliver spark in sluggish team display | Barney Ronay


Forward was England’s sole figure running with real purpose against Poland – but his game is still a little misunderstood

With 58 minutes gone at Wembley, the score 1-0, and all sense of attacking pep drained from England’s fuel cells, an important life lesson presented itself.

Just as you can win a tournament game on the small details, by turning this game of rich human variables into a series of managed collisions, so you can also ship a goal from nowhere via a shanked pass from a high‑grade central defender prone to moments of high‑grade dither.

Related: Maguire's blast bails out Stones as England scrape nervy win over Poland

Related: England 2-1 Poland: Player ratings for Gareth Southgate's side

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