Euro 2020: "If you haven't got belief, don't bother coming" - Raheem Sterling and Dominic Calvert-Lewin talk England's chances

Three years before Euro 2020, at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Raheem Sterling discovered a seemingly inescapable truth about England and major tournaments. His manager, Gareth Southgate, had been confronted by the same truth at Euro 96. Six years before that, at the 1990 World Cup, Bobby Robson and his players had experienced this enlightenment. These were England’s three most successful finals since 1966 – heady summers that have gone down in history. But no matter how well the team performs, nor how much they lift the nation, there is always a simple, yet savage, reality for the Three Lions. By the sheer nature of tournament football, unless you’re the last team standing with the trophy in the bag, your journey is destined to end in defeat, heartbreak and regret. 

Even while plaudits continue to come their way afterwards, for the players there remains a nagging feeling of ‘if only’; a sense that utopia was within reach, if somehow they had found a way to do that little bit more.

Sterling feels that way about Russia 2018. 

England surpassed expectations in Russia, reaching the semi-finals thanks to a series of vital wins: that hard-fought triumph over Tunisia; their 6-1 pummelling of Panama; the euphoria of a long-awaited penalty shootout success, in seeing off Colombia; then the win over bogey side Sweden in the last eight.

Even so, Sterling has mixed emotions when he reminisces about that tournament, as the 26-year-old reveals when FourFourTwo asks if it’s the victories or the semi-final defeat to Croatia that remains uppermost in his mind. 

“The victories,” he replies. “They were huge. We showed real character and togetherness – it’s an experience that will be in the back of my head for the rest of my life. 

“But personally, I’ve now played at three tournaments for England and that one was the hardest to take. Mentally I was in the best place of my career and I had big expectations of myself. I believed I could have brought a lot more to the team.”

It’s an assessment that flies in the face of the praise he largely received for his displays in Russia. Sterling was a key creative player in an attack that scored 12 goals at the World Cup – the most England have ever managed at a major tournament. But while Harry Kane scored six times to collect the Golden Boot, Sterling failed to find the net, and he’s still beating himself up about it.

“That’s what I judge my performances on – that’s what I’m there to do for the team,” he says. “The defenders and goalkeeper are there to stop goals, and I’m there to score goals, so of course I wasn’t very happy that I didn’t. We played well as a team, but if I tell myself I had a good tournament, where’s the room for improvement?”

‘Room for improvement’ may best sum up England’s mentality ahead of Euro 2020. Although Gareth Southgate’s side were good in 2018, now they want more. 

After the humiliation of England’s defeat to Iceland at Euro 2016, the World Cup restored the team’s reputation, repairing bonds with fans and the media, and clearing the cloud that hung over the squad. They will go into a European Championship on home soil knowing the country is fully behind them.

They will also be boosted by the emergence of more young talent since 2018. Nowhere is that more obvious than in midfield and out wide, with Phil Foden, Mason Mount, Declan Rice, Jack Grealish and Jadon Sancho among those added to Southgate’s options since the World Cup. Foden, who may be the most exciting of all, would not have been ready for this tournament without the year’s delay.

England go into Euro 2020 sitting fourth in the FIFA world rankings – their highest ever position ahead of a major tournament. 

“Since the last World Cup, I feel we’ve got better,” insists Sterling. “You might even say that we’ve got more ability in the squad now – players that can change matches at any moment. We’ve got more of those players than we did in 2018; players I genuinely feel are match-winners and have that arrogance about them. When I’m watching other teams in the Premier League today, I’m thinking, ‘Yeah, he’s English’, and I’m really proud to say that. There’s a lot of special talent, and I say that with emphasis. A lot.”

That partly explains why, as of mid-April, bookmakers had installed the Three Lions as joint-favourites to win Euro 2020, level with world champions France. “What the bookies say doesn’t really matter,” Sterling tells FFT – although when asked what he regards as England’s target this summer, his ambitions grow as he answers.

“First and foremost, it’s qualifying out of the group,” he begins, before starting to think a bit higher. “In the past, I’ve heard people say, ‘Let’s see how it goes’, but I always say

I ain’t going into a tournament without the thought of winning it. It might sound a long stretch, but if you haven’t got that belief – if the group isn’t thinking that – then there’s no point even going to the tournament, to be honest with you.

“You don’t want to shout that out because it could come back to bite you, though at the same time, as a group, as a country, that’s what we should be aiming for: to try to win. Anything less than that is a disappointment. To win things, you have to have that mentality from day one. Everyone has to work together to be that number one team, and as a group, I do believe everyone is working to be that. From the short career I’ve already had, I’ve learned that if you haven’t got belief, nothing will come of it.”

Considering the tally of trophies Sterling has won at Manchester City, he probably knows what he’s talking about.

Sterling isn’t the only squad member who knows about winning. For the first time in more than 50 years, England go into a finals with some world champions in their ranks.

Back in October 2017, England captured the Under-17 World Cup with Sancho scoring freely and Foden spearheading the triumph. Four months earlier, Dominic Calvert-Lewin had scored the solitary goal in the Under-20 World Cup Final against Venezuela. It was England’s first global tournament win in any age group since 1966.

Calvert-Lewin will never forget the day he made history for his country. “It was a surreal feeling,” he tells FFT. “I hit the back of the net and the stadium went silent. The England fans were over on the other side, so there was a sound delay. There was no way I could have been offside, but I still looked over at the linesman thinking, ‘Have I scored?’ Then I remember wheeling away, just ecstatic.

“At the final whistle, it was complete joy. I remember running to Jonjoe Kenny and Kieran Dowell, my Everton team-mates. We all grouped together and I couldn’t breathe because we were screaming so much. I was losing my voice!

“I hadn’t been involved with the England setup for any more than a year before that, so I was proving to myself and to everyone else that I belonged there. It was a brilliant foundation to build on and it helped me get to where I am today. That experience can help me this summer: I felt what it’s like to win a tournament, albeit with the Under-20s, and I understand that there are different pressures that come with senior football. But I know what it feels like to be in tournament football and go all the way.”

Given how special it felt to win something with the U20s, can he even begin to imagine how it would feel if England were to win the European Championship at senior level this July? “I can’t, no,” he says. “I think it would be an overwhelming experience. It’s something we all want to achieve, though.”

Calvert-Lewin watched England’s run to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals as a fan, cheering on his future international team-mates like the rest of the nation.

“I just remember how the whole country came together,” he recalls, thinking back to that balmy summer. “It was exciting to see England doing well, and hoping that one day I would be involved in something like that. It was an inspiration to me.”

By early 2020, the striker had progressed to such an extent that he looked certain to receive his first senior call-up for the March friendlies against Italy and Denmark, after a run of 10 goals in only 13 Premier League appearances for Everton. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, however, and those friendlies were quickly cancelled.

“It was frustrating because I was in good form, so I thought I would have been in with a decent chance of getting called up,” the 24-year-old reflects now. “But it wasn’t to be. I just took confidence from what I had already done, and knew that if I continued that form, my time would come.”

Seven months later, it did. A barren spell after the Premier League’s June resumption meant that he missed out on the squad for England’s September fixtures, but when he stormed into 2020-21 with nine goals in his first six Everton outings, all against Premier League opposition, Calvert-Lewin got the call – or rather, the text.

“Coming into this season, my target was to break into the squad,” he says. “I wasn’t too disappointed when I missed out on the first one, because I knew my form probably wasn’t good enough after the restart. I’m realistic. But come the next one, I’d scored a few goals, so I was more hopeful.

“I remember coming back in from training at Everton and checking my phone. I knew from Jordan Pickford and Michael Keane that you get a text, so I came in excited and a bit nervous. When I saw that I’d been called up, I was over the moon. The first thing I did was call my family, and my mum burst into tears. She gets a lot more nervous and emotional than I do about my football. She was really excited when I told her.”

A few days later, Calvert-Lewin was named in the starting XI to face Wales at Wembley. He needed just 26 minutes to head home his first England goal. Later that evening, his dad posted an emotional message on social media. “I remember him not making the Victory Shield squad at under-16s, certain coaches not rating him,” wrote Calvert-Lewin Sr. “Having to take a crying six-year-old boy home from his first trial, because he was too shy to play. Rejection is often life’s way of directing you to the path you’re supposed to be on. The tears shed tonight are happy ones while smiling at anyone who said he would never make it. Bambi on Ice, you said. Bambi found his skates.”

Both the goal and that message mean a lot to the Everton frontman.

“It made me very proud when I saw what my dad had written – I’ve always wanted to make my family proud of me,” he explains. “The ‘Bambi on Ice’ line was a reference to the criticism you come under as a youngster when you move to the Premier League, when I was still making my way in the game. You’re under the magnifying glass, so I think that was his response to the people who doubted me along the way. He’s quite poetic with his words. We don’t shy away from sharing our love for each other.

“The Wales game was just a dream debut. If I could have imagined it to go a certain way, it would have been exactly like that – to score early on, with my head in the penalty area. This summer will be no different from when I made my debut. I want to play for my country. I’m still hungry.”

At Euro 2020, England will be buoyed by the enthusiasm of the young players who have joined the squad since the World Cup. They will also hope to be buoyed by the enthusiasm of a home crowd at Wembley, for their three group games against Croatia, Scotland and Czech Republic, then for the semi-finals and final... if they get that far.

During the 1966 World Cup and at Euro 96, England played all of their matches at the Twin Towers, and home advantage clearly worked in their favour. “I think it will again,” says Sterling. “The supporters are going to be behind us. Driving to the stadium, we’re going to see people and it’s only going to give us a lift. We’re going to be smiling, in our own environment, eating our own food. We always appreciated the fans before, but this year has shown just how much they mean to football – without them it’s pretty much nothing to me, so it’ll be great to have them back. It’ll be a great experience, at a ground that we know really well. There will definitely be a little bit of pressure on us, but I believe it’s good pressure.”

For Sterling, playing at Wembley in a major international tournament will have extra significance: as a child, he went to school only a quarter of a mile from the stadium. He has made 12 tournament appearances for the Three Lions – three at Brazil 2014, three at Euro 2016, six at Russia 2018 – yet he is still awaiting his first goal on the big stage, even though he nearly hit a 30-yard belter just three minutes into his World Cup debut, against Italy in 2014. He suspects this event could be his destiny; to deliver a big moment in a place that means so much to him.

“Things happen for a reason, you know?” he adds. “This summer, in my hometown, I have a good feeling. You work every day for those big moments. I’ve always believed, from when I was very young, but you have things that shape you. I feel like I’m mentally stronger these days.”

England will be staying at their regular St George’s Park training base during Euro 2020. Sterling believes the familiarity could also make a difference. He admits that he didn’t always find it easy residing in a hotel during previous tournaments, and pinpoints that as the most important issue when asked what he learned from his experiences with England in 2014, 2016 and 2018. 

“To come prepared for it, like you’re at home,” answers Sterling. “I’d say that was the toughest part for me – the time away – so come prepared like you’re going to be at home, get ready and cosy, and spend a lot more time outside of my bedroom than at previous tournaments. My first tournament in 2014 was hard for that, and also the last one, in 2018. I’m a guy who likes my space, so the first thing for me to do is just go up to my room and watch a series. After a while that gets a bit boring, a bit tough, but you bring it on yourself. It’s not that I don’t want to be hanging out with my team-mates; it’s just something that I’ve always done from when I was young.

“St George’s Park is a familiar place, so that will definitely help. I find it hard to be away from home, but I need to be more social and enjoy the stuff away from football, enjoying every day with the team. That will help me in matches, because then you’re more relaxed. Don’t be stuck inside a room, all by yourself, thinking. Be in a relaxed environment, having a laugh. Creating that bond with the rest of your team-mates is the most important thing during a long tournament.”

If England are to succeed this summer, they must also overcome their dismal history at the European Championship. Only once have they ever progressed through a knockout tie, and that was by edging Spain on penalties at Wembley in 1996. 

Henry Winter has reported on every single tournament since those days, and believes there’s a reason why the Three Lions suffer more at the Euros than at the World Cup. “Because you must hit the ground running,” says The Times’ chief football writer. Indeed, England have never won their opening game at a European Championship, drawing five times and losing four. “This time it’s Croatia in the first match, but none of those three group games are going to be easy,” continues Winter. “If it had been Scotland first, you’d have said, ‘Oh my God, you’ve absolutely got to be on your game there’. At the World Cup there’s maybe a Panama, or a group game that you can ease into.”

Facing Croatia will resume a rivalry that goes back to Euro 2004. Inspired by a young Wayne Rooney, England came from behind to win the decisive group match 4-2 at that finals, but then lost twice to the Vatreni in their doomed Euro 2008 qualifying campaign. 

“England were under pressure at Wembley and we delivered a superb performance,” recalls Ivica Olic, hoping to repeat the feat this summer, having been Croatia’s assistant manager for the past four years. He scored their second goal in that 2007 triumph, on a rain-soaked night that ended the reign of Steve McClaren and his brolly.

The Three Lions got their revenge when Theo Walcott hit a hat-trick in Zagreb during qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, only for Croatia to prevail in that fateful semi-final in Moscow three years ago. 

“We always rated England really highly, and planned to change our system for that semi,” explains Olic. “England played 3-5-2, so we planned to go 4-4-2 with two strikers. We tried it in training, but then decided a day before the game that, no, we’d stick to our normal formation: 4-2-3-1, with Ivan Perisic and Ante Rebic out on the wings, and Mario Mandzukic at centre-forward. We’d try to do damage to England like that. We conceded the opening goal, and it’s always very hard to get back into the game against a strong team. That’s why the equaliser from Perisic was so important. We played fantastically after that. When Mandzukic scored in extra time, that was one of my best moments in football. It sent us to the World Cup final.”

Winter feels Croatia will pose a real threat again this summer. “Despite England being at home, I think Croatia are the favourites to top that group because they cherish the ball,” he tells FFT. “In the World Cup semi, I don’t think Gareth Southgate reacted to Croatia’s changes during the match; he allowed Luka Modric to start running the game, and he’d probably admit that.

“The result of that first match will set the tone for the Scotland game, which will be completely hyped up. If you’ve got 5,000 Scots at Wembley – and it might be more – they’ll make an absolute racket, because those games are massive. England have a far better squad than Scotland, but Scotland have something in them when they come south.

“I was on a Zoom call with Declan Rice before Christmas, and David Moyes gatecrashed it at West Ham’s training ground. He associates me with being an England reporter and he said, ‘England vs Scotland, I remember coming down to those games…’ He just went off on this huge spiel in front of Declan, saying, ‘This is what you’ve got coming your way at Wembley – my dad organised so many of the trips down from Scotland. We’d pick up the guys in tartan on the way, book a hotel, all sleep in the same room and then invade Wembley’. I don’t think he was one of the supporters who invaded the pitch in 1977, but he was definitely in the stadium. 

“England know what they’ll be up against in that match. Southgate faced Scotland at Euro 96, so he’ll know, too.”

Nor does England’s potential path in the knockout stages look easy. Win Group D and they will play whoever finishes second in the Group of Death – probably one of Germany, world champions France or Euro 2016 kings Portugal. Win that, and they could face Spain in the quarter-finals. And, if England finish second in their group, they would likely end up facing the winners of the Group of Death in the last eight – though that does assume they would beat a Poland or a Sweden in the last 16 first, just as everyone assumed they would beat Iceland in 2016. That went well... 

Sterling remembers all too vividly how he felt that night in Nice. Of the side that started against Iceland, only he, Harry Kane and Kyle Walker are likely contenders for a place in the XI this summer. “It literally felt like the end of the world at that moment, because we knew we should have done better,” says the Manchester City man. “When you don’t win a game that you’re meant to win, you know what’s going to come from that.”

Did the 2018 World Cup help to wash away the pain of that defeat? “No, it will always be there – to know that if you’re not up to it in a major tournament, there can be upsets at any moment. Those teams are there for a reason. Their game plan might be different from ours – they probably won’t have much of the ball – but they’ll affect you in different ways. You’ve got to be prepared for anything.

“That was something the manager always brought up during the World Cup. How do you get back from those moments? How do you overcome setbacks in matches? It was getting us mentally prepared. His message at that World Cup was togetherness, and the team spirit to keep believing at any moment. We showed that on numerous occasions.”

The Three Lions showed something else in the months after that World Cup: promising signs of finally starting to beat Europe’s top teams, including a memorable win in Spain.

“There’s optimism, as long as Southgate goes for it,” explains Winter. “I don’t think England can grind it out – the defence isn’t good enough – so let’s play to our strengths. When he went 4-3-3 in Seville with Sterling, Rashford and Kane, they tore Spain apart.”

The trio linked up again a month later as England beat Croatia at Wembley to top their Nations League group, but due to various fitness concerns, they have started only two competitive matches together since then: hammerings of Bulgaria at home (4-0) and away (6-0). With the combination broken up, England lost to the Netherlands in the semis of the 2018-19 Nations League, then finished third in the standings behind Belgium and Denmark in the last campaign.

The trio could reunite at Euro 2020, though there’s now more competition than ever in attacking areas. Calvert-Lewin is ambitious to make an impact when the opportunity presents itself. Just training alongside Kane has already brought benefits.

“It’s a great learning experience for me,” says the striker, who has four goals in seven games for his country. “I played with Wayne Rooney at Everton, and what an experience that was – a kid’s dream. I was younger then and he helped me through tough times. I’ll always be grateful for that. He’s left the door open if I want to get in touch. I had a phone call with him not long ago; he said to keep doing what I’m doing, for club and country.

“I’m like any other player: I really want to play this summer. In tournament football, everyone has to play their part – that was evident to me at the Under-20 World Cup. All players are needed. So, regardless of what my role is, I’ll be ready to step up and play.”

That eagerness is echoed throughout the squad, but despite the fierce competition for places, there’s been no sign of it developing into interpersonal rivalries that could disrupt team harmony. “They’re a good group,” says Winter. “Southgate is very much into the All Blacks’ ‘no dickheads’ philosophy. I don’t think there are any dickheads in there.”

For all potential members of Southgate’s England party, the focus is simply on giving themselves the best chance to be involved against Croatia on June 13, in some form or another. It’s a fixture that will always have added meaning for those who were involved in that World Cup semi-final three years ago.

“We’ve played them since then, so I feel like that scar has gone already,” Sterling tells FFT, attempting – initially – to play it down. “But at the same time, they’ll probably think that they’ve beaten us once in a tournament already. We’ve just got to be mentally ready for it, with nothing at the back of our heads – nothing from that last tournament. We can’t be dwelling on that. It would be a great way to start the tournament, to beat the team that knocked us out of the World Cup. What more motivation do you need than that?”

Fans will hope that motivation is enough to overcome any tiredness from a domestic campaign that’s been more hectic than ever this year. Manchester City have barely had a free midweek since the season kicked off, although Sterling is quick to make clear that he’s not worrying about such things. For him, the excitement of a tournament on home soil is enough to override everything. 

“I. Can’t. Wait,” he says, pausing between words for deliberate emphasis. “Simple as that: I cannot wait.”

In July, when it’s all said and done, Sterling and his England team-mates want no mixed emotions; no nagging feeling that they could have done a bit more. No regrets.

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