Raheem Sterling has claimed he is so focused on World Cup success with England that he is yet to book a post-tournament holiday.
Gareth Southgate’s side face Colombia in a last-16 clash on Tuesday, hoping to extend their stay in Russia into the weekend.
Defeat would mean England flying home, with the players set to disperse for a summer break. But Sterling revealed that he is yet to plan a trip, having felt it was a mistake to do so prior to his first World Cup in Brazil four years ago.
“At the last World Cup, I was probably thinking about a holiday and ‘Oh, when will we get off?’ but now I’ve been through it and seen how it goes, you want to get down to work and focus,” the Manchester City forward told the FA’s Lions’ Den show. “When that time comes, it comes, but not at this moment in time.”
Sterling believes his decision is further evidence of a growing maturity, having taken giant strides under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, where he scored 18 goals and provided 11 assists from 33 Premier League games as the club cruised to the title last season.
“My game’s evolved in terms of being more mature,” he said. “Being younger, I just wanted to run with the ball every second I got it, but I am better with my decisions and am just trying to be in the box more and trying to finish my chances.
“That’s what happened for me this year. I used to just dribble and stay wide, but now I am in the box more, getting more opportunities. Here, I want to be part of a squad that can do something special, hopefully go all the way.
“I feel more involved. In Brazil, I really didn’t know what was going on. It was like a big blur. This one, you feel the energy in the team, you feel much more a team player because you have been around the set-up for quite a while now and just much more comfortable in and around the place. It has been really enjoyable so far.
“What the manager has brought in has been a massive credit to him. He treats everybody the same and the attention to detail he is bringing in is really good, so we are not really trying to do anything we haven’t been doing.
“We are trying to keep doing the same things we have been doing and, hopefully, that should work.”
