The City winger grabbed the game’s opening goal with 15 to play in a 2-0 win, his third strike of a glittering individual tournament so far, before Harry Kane sealed the victory late on.
In one of Euro 2020’s most hotly anticipated matches so far, Sterling, John Stones, Kyle Walker and Phil Foden locked horns with City teammate, Ilkay Gundogan, in a first competitive encounter between the two nations since the 2010 World Cup.
And Sterling was proud by the manner in which the Three Lions earned the victory, insisting they were focused on not letting the occasion get the better of them.
“We knew we needed to put a big performance in against a very good side and I thought we did that today,” he reflected at full-time.
“Doing it for your country will always be special, it’s definitely a special moment for me.
“I celebrated and for half a second thought: ‘let it not be offside’! I was really happy it went in and happy we got the win.”
Despite his decisive contribution, Sterling singled out midfield duo Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips for particular praise.
Their tireless performances in front of the England defence were essential to frustrate and nullify Die Mannschaft’s prospects of coming away from Wembley with a win.
For the City winger, their blend of dynamism and professionalism summed up the collective effort that Gareth Southgate’s side applied in an historic victory.
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He declared: “We know the intensity we can play at and we know a lot of teams can’t deal with it.
“We kept going, the two boys in midfield, Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips, they were class, they ate up ground and were animals in there.
“It was a great team performance (but) we take it game by game. We’ll go away, recover, get focused and move on to the next one.”
