The main strengths Sterling brings will always be appreciated more by a coach than it will the general public as the latter only really focus on what players do on the ball (and even then only really in key moments).
The game against Tunisia, all of the good play in the first thirty minutes and the space that Lingard found was due to Sterling and Kane creating that space - Sterling dropping deep and Kane wide was moving the defence at will.
The second half (and Holland and Southgate both referenced this too), Tunisia’s Manager had clearly told his defence to keep their position. That coupled with Alli no longer moving well led to Sterling receiving the ball with no support around him at all. Really, what Southgate should have done is get more width on and either changed Sterling sooner or moved his position to wide right (he’s fully bought in to the system so more likely it would have been the former).
The fan perception will be that it was a performance issue as Sterling was the last one to get the ball and so subsequently losing it. It wasn’t, the root cause of that was a tactical issue that, against better teams, Southgate has to change far earlier than he did - we essentially got away with it. Rashford had the exact same problem and actually ran in to dead ends of his own accord far more. What brought more control was having an able runner on the pitch again against Loftus Cheek.
The upshot of all of that is I’d still be amazed if Sterling doesn’t start against Panama and even if he doesn’t, I’m sure he will when we face stronger opposition.
It’s a lack of understanding in the public that’s played up to by sections of the media. As long as Sterling can ignore that (and he does seem to be far more thick skinned than most) and keep his performance level as it is, then I’m sure the coaching staff realise how important he is to this team and he will remain a pivotal part.
