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Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling has revealed he has set his sights on winning a century of caps for England by the time he finishes his career, BBC Sport reported. Sterling has been picked for the national squad for their upcoming games against Spain and France during the international break.
The 20-year-old has earned worldwide recognition in a short span of time and has been picked for the national side on a regular basis. Sterling broke into the senior set-up three years ago, during his playing days with Liverpool football club and he has already made 18 appearances for the Three Lions.
Despite his tender age, the England sensation has proved he isn’t short of confidence on the international stage. His first taste of a major international tournament was bittersweet as England were dumped out after just two games in Brazil.
Sterling has spearheaded the revolution in the England side as a younger core of players have come to the fore in a remarkably successful campaign for Euro 2016 that saw Hodgson’s men win all 10 of their qualifying matches.
Till date, only nine players have won 100 caps or more for England including David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Bobby Moore, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Peter Shilton and Sir Bobby Charlton. And now, the former Queens Park Rangers winger has expressed his desire to join that elite club and has set his sights on winning a century of caps for the Three Lions. But he has admitted that there’s still a long way to go.
“I want to do my best for my country and hopefully be up there with some of the players who have played and try to achieve 100 caps in the future,” he told reporters.
“I've got 18 now so hopefully if I keep working hard and do well for my club then I can be picked for a few more squads.”
“It's a long time away, but that is definitely my ambition towards the end of my career.”
England seek to extend their unbeaten run against Spain
Hodgson and his men are training in Alicante, where they will be facing Vicente del Bosque’s European champions Spain. England have a good chance of extending their 15-game unbeaten run – including 10 wins from 10 in qualifying for next summer’s tournament Euro 2016.
“This is the real challenge,” Sterling added.
“We are going to be playing some of Europe's best teams and this is where we get to see where we are in terms of the tournament in the summer.”
After meeting France at Wembley on Tuesday, England will next face Germany and Netherlands in March.
