Raheem Sterling says Jadon Sancho 'begged' for first England goal

Raheem Sterling has revealed Jadon Sancho was "begging" the Manchester City forward to assist him for his first international goal the night before England's win over Kosovo.

England's 5-3 victory against Kosovo on Tuesday evening sparked many concerns for manager Gareth Southgate defensively, but one thing that was evident was the electricity of the front three of Sterling, Sancho and Harry Kane.

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Sancho scored his first two senior international goals for the Three Lions, both assisted by Sterling, and the Manchester City star admitted the 19-year-old had been in his room the previous night asking for help to score.

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Sterling said: "He was in my room at 10.30pm last night begging for me to square one to him.

"So, I was really happy to see him score his first one. He's a good kid.

"Even when I was at that age, I wasn't doing some of the things he's doing. He's really professional."

Sancho has been in fine form for Borussia Dortmund this season, scoring twice and assisting three goals in three Bundesliga matches, and he replaced Manchester United's Marcus Rashford from the 4-0 win against Bulgaria on Saturday.

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Southgate applauded his front three for their performance at St Mary's, branding Sterling's display "unstoppable" as he scored one and created three goals.

Southgate said: "Our attacking play, Raheem (Sterling), Jadon (Sancho) and Harry (Kane) were outstanding. I mean Raheem's two performances have been of the highest level.

"I think he's been almost unstoppable, his awareness of where defenders were, his ability to ride challenges, his vision and desire to get in on goal, and unselfish play as well, so I couldn't speak highly enough of the way he played.

"Jadon - you know we were talking about the three on Saturday - Jadon's performance was at that level as well."

The teenage star has integrated himself into the England senior set-up with ease and enjoys playing with the dynamic duo of Kane and Sterling.

Sancho added: "It's very good, we get a lot of the ball. Especially when you make them passes, they're going to get on the end of it. So it's always good to play with them two and all of the other players really. They're all great players.

"I'm really happy to score my England goals, especially finishing it off with a win.

"It was a special goal for me and my family and I dedicated my goal to my nan who recently passed away.

"I was just thinking of my nan and how proud she would be of me. Just making my mum smile, my dad smile and making my whole family smile so it was a really good moment for me."

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Analysis: Sancho makes his case

Sky Sports's Nick Wright: Sancho had to settle for a place on the bench against Bulgaria on Saturday, but he certainly made the most of starting opportunity against Kosovo. The 19-year-old, who has begun the Bundesliga season with two goals and three assists in three games for Borussia Dortmund, continued in the same vein on the international stage.

In fact, this performance was a continuation of what we've already seen from Sancho in an England shirt. His pace and skill caused problems for Kosovo from the start and his goals made him the youngest player to score twice in a single game for England since Wayne Rooney in 2004...

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