England vs Czech Republic: How Raheem Sterling learned to lift the pressure and be the complete player

The man who tore the Czech Republic on Friday night was shorn of the pressure and mental blocks that once inhibited him, and what he displayed was one of the world’s most decisive and decimating forwards

When it came to trying to explain exactly how and why it’s so clicked for him, Raheem Sterling put it all so smoothly.

“It’s just being confident in myself... just go with it, really,” he said after his performance against the Czech Republic at Wembley. “That’s it.”

That’s hard to argue with. Sterling has just kept going through the levels, to the point his form culminated in a first international hat-trick on Friday, and partly because he just goes with it in style of play, too. There is such an impressive fluency to the forward’s game that only fosters that sense of just going for it as much as with it. He is a player currently performing without any hesitation or doubt. He’s just so assured, which is all the more impressive given the woefully misplaced doubts and criticism he’s faced elsewhere.

And yet as fluid as his game is, those who know him well do point to distinctive juncture points, that helped bring out this confidence.

For Gareth Southgate, who gleefully spoke of how Sterling has “turned full circle” with England - “we can’t hide from the fact he’s had difficult moments” - one of those junctures came as recently as October, in Seville.

“The goals in Spain were an important moment for him,” the England manager said of that 3-2 victory. “You could see the release that had brought. And his finishes there and tonight [against Czech Republic] were finishes that he was just taking on without thinking too much. At times, you could almost see the thought process in the process, but he’s hungry for those goals. I know he’s spoken about that before, of how he’s added that incentive to his game and I thought he was devastating tonight.”

And in general. This is what should be so frightening for anyone that faces Manchester City, or England right now. Sterling is now delivering all the goals his supreme talent demanded he should, with the fact he’s adding them at international level showing how complete a player he’s now become. We are now talking about one of the world’s most decisive and decimating forwards.

What the Spain performance did was just give him that release for England. It removed that remaining mental block, that remaining pressure, so we’re now witnessing a player that doesn’t seem to feel any pressure.

But it would be wrong to say this is all instinctive and unthinking. As Southgate referenced, Sterling is also one of the most thoughtful players in the game, and that doesn’t just apply to social issues.

Raheem Sterling's superb hat-trick guided England to a 5-0 victory over Czech Republic (PA)

Those who know him talk of a player who takes huge interest in properly studying the opposition, and always looking for ways to bring all the different facets of his game together. He very quickly realised as a teenager a winger wasn’t a guy who took it to the byline and crossed or just looked for individual moments, but was one of the most important players in the modern game.

Much has been made of Pep Guardiola’s influence on this and how he’s complemented Sterling's abilities, but just as important has been one of the Catalan’s staff. Rodo Borrell has been at City with Guardiola since he arrived, but was before that at Liverpool with Sterling.

Many cite Borell as key to Sterling’s development, but Borrell would just explain how the real key was helping him bring all these different elements together. One story regularly told is how, in an under-18’s game between Liverpool and City at Kirkby, the coach pointed to how City struggled with balls behind the defence and that Sterling should thereby be patient. Sterling was more than patient. He pored over clips of City struggling in exactly that manner. And what happened? He scored in that manner, timing his run right to receive a pass in behind and score.

These are the roots of what we’re seeing now, that brought the significant steps that have just ensured his career has accelerated.

And that’s what’s also so promising. As complete as Sterling already is, he can become even better.

Sterling scored his first international hat-trick on Friday (Getty)

He’s also making others better. The leadership Sterling displayed in scoring only reflect and emphasise what he’s displayed elsewhere. He has matured in so many senses, to the point that he’s now one of the senior figures in the team at the mere age of 24.

“I’ve put him into the leadership group that we have. I think he’s showing those signs, I think he’s a role model for the younger players coming in. He’s really focused on his training and his preparation and I think he’s enjoyed that extra responsibility as well.

“That shone through on the pitch, so a really special night for him.”

But Sterling is just a really special player, and probably England’s most talented. Certainly, one of Europe’s most talented. He has gone to the next level, and can bring his country to the next level.