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What's the story?
England took on Belgium last night in the 3rd-place match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Having lost their respective semi-finals against Croatia and France, these two giants stepped up toe to toe.
Eventually, Belgium outplayed The Three Lions and finished 3rd with a 2-0 scoreline, with Eden Hazard and Thomas Meunier finding the back of the net for the Red Devils.
After the match, Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho, who is currently serving as a pundit for Russian international television network RT, got stuck into Manchester City's Raheem Sterling, claiming that he had a bad tournament.
In case you didn't know...
Raheem Sterling hasn't scored a single goal for England since October 2015, and failed to find the back of the net at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
He started 6 games for England, playing 456 minutes in the competition and managed to notch just 1 assist.
Sterling entered the World Cup on the back of his best personal season where he scored 23 goals and assisted 17 more for Manchester City in all competitions. However, it seems to have taken a toll on 23-year-old as he failed to make a similar impact for England.
The heart of the matter
Jose Mourinho, who is currently a pundit offering his thoughts on the World Cup, took his opportunity to slam Sterling by saying to RT:
“I was a little bit surprised that Sterling was in the team, He did not have a good World Cup"
"He didn't have a good enough World Cup to be chosen for a match ahead of [Jamie] Vardy, [Danny] Welbeck, [Marcus] Rashford – people with probably better condition from a physical and psychological point of view."
Mourinho also lambasted England's manager, Gareth Southgate, for not giving either Jack Butland or Nick Pope an opportunity in the 3rd-place match against Belgium after Jordan Pickford comfortably sealed the spot for the entire duration of the competition.
"I think also for a second goalkeeper to feel I didn't even play in the third match of the group phase, I'm not playing in the third vs fourth match, when can I play," Mourinho added.
"I think it's quite frustrating for a guy like Butland or Pope."
Video:
Sterling was certainly on fire for Manchester City last season but couldn't replicate it at the World Cup for England.
What's next?
As the world gears up for the World Cup final to be played between France and Croatia, Raheem Sterling and Jose Mourinho will already be plotting to succeed with their respective teams in the upcoming Premier League season.
The next season begins on the 11th of August as the first gameweek will see Manchester United host Leicester City, while Manchester City will travel to London to face Arsenal.
