World Cup 2018: 6 England Players Whose Stock Rose (And 3 Whose Dropped)

7. Down - Raheem Sterling

Kieran Trippier, England
PETER POWELL/epa/Corbis

As mentioned previously, Raheem Sterling started every game for England bar the group game against Belgium, and faced almost constant criticism his performances. Though he played decidedly better in the latter stages of the tournament, the Man City forward came nowhere near to recreating the form that saw him set the Premier League alight last season.

What frustrated fans the most about Sterling was the fact that he was getting into decent positions on the pitch, but he was unable to convert anything into a goal or even a clear cut chance. The thought was that Rashford could do just that, but he didn't prove to be much improvement either.

Had Raheem remembered his shooting boots for the tournament, particularly against Croatia in the semi final, England may well have faced France in the final rather than Belgium in the third place playoff, and football may have come home after all.

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