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Which England players will impress the most during the group stages?

By James Fudge

SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - JUNE 13: Raheem Sterling of England holds his ankle during a training session as part of the England media access at Spartak Zelenogorsk Stadium ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2018 on June 13, 2018 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Photo by Alex Morton/Getty Images)
SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - JUNE 13: Raheem Sterling of England holds his ankle during a training session as part of the England media access at Spartak Zelenogorsk Stadium ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2018 on June 13, 2018 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Photo by Alex Morton/Getty Images) /
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BURTON-UPON-TRENT, ENGLAND – JUNE 05: Raheem Sterling of England looks on during an England media session at St Georges Park on June 5, 2018 in Burton-upon-Trent, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
BURTON-UPON-TRENT, ENGLAND – JUNE 05: Raheem Sterling of England looks on during an England media session at St Georges Park on June 5, 2018 in Burton-upon-Trent, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /

Raheem Sterling

This could be his tournament. The winger has credited his transformation to Pep Guardiola after scoring 23 goals and assisting 12 times during the recent campaign. He will be hoping to take that form into this summer’s tournament and leading England to glory.

The decision prior to the tournament was Sterling or Marcus Rashford to form a partnership with Harry Kane, with the decision made certain after the Manchester United forward sustained a knock in training and missed a few days of preparation. The injury seems to have cemented the place of the Manchester City forward for the first game at least.

Sterling will need to be the link between the midfield and Kane but will rely on the central midfielders, likely to be Henderson, Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard, to supply on the cutting passes to open up the Tunisian defence.

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