World Cup: Englishman Sterling returns to London after robbery in front of family

England didn’t need their striker Raheem Sterling to beat Senegal 3-0 in the round of 16 and thus join France in the quarter-finals next Saturday (20:00). The Chelsea striker was forced to withdraw from the match as the English federation announced “family problems”. Sterling actually left Qatar to return to London. After the match, we learned that his wife and children were robbed by gunmen on Saturday evening while they were at their home.

This episode, reminiscent of the misadventures of the Parisians Angel Di Maria and Marquinhos in March 2021, caused a wave of emotion in England. So Gary Lineker, a former international international with 8.6 million followers, tweeted his thoughts to Sterling and his family following their horrific and heartbreaking ordeal.

Raheem Sterling, 28, started the first two matches against Iran (6-2) and the US (0-0) the following Thursday. He remained on the bench against Wales and was replaced by Phil Foden. A performance player for Gareth Southgate, he is the highest-scoring of 26 Englishmen in the World Cup with 81 picks. He scored his 20th goal and provided his 27th assist against Iran.

Depending on his ability to overcome this episode, as well as the emotional state of his family, he will or will not return in the coming days with his teammates to prepare for the quarter-finals against France.