Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling has outlined his pride after capping his night as England captain with a goal and an assist. Gareth Southgate made several changes for the Ivory Coast game and Sterling played a key role as he won his 72nd international cap beneath the famous Wembley arch.
After laying an opener for Ollie Watkins on a plate, Sterling combined with City teammate Jack Grealish to make it 2-0 against the ten-man Ivorians. It finished up 3-0 in the end, but Sterling was forced to shake off an early knock to net his 18th goal for the Three Lions on a memorable occasion.
During his post-match interview with Sky Sports, the City forward said: "A good night, it's always an honour to get given the opportunity to wear the captain's armband, I wore it with great pride. It was a great team performance in the end."
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Sterling added: "It's a great privilege and never in my wildest imagination as a young player coming through did I ever think I would captain England one day, it comes with maturity the manager sees in you, the passion and love I have for the country.
"I always have this thing where I remember me coming through as a young player and it's nice when senior players put their arms around you, it's a new environment and all we can do is make sure the new ones feel as comfortable as possible. We continue to try to build, one game at a time."
While it ended up being another memorable night for Sterling - with his goal and assist - an early knock threatened to end his prematurely. However, the City man insists that his 'dead leg' was nothing to worry about.
He continued: "It was a dead leg in the first minute of the game, one of those annoying ones which won't go away and it just got stiffer and stiffer as the game goes on."
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