This archive report was first published on 13 November 2019.
England's bid to qualify for Euro 2020 in style has been thrown into chaos after a physical altercation between Raheem Sterling and Joe Gomez at the team's training base on Monday.
The incident occurred as emotions spilled over from the highly-anticipated Premier League clash between Manchester City and Liverpool on Sunday.
According to reports, Gareth Southgate's initial instinct was to send Sterling home, but the intervention of senior players, including Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, helped ease the feud and the 24-year-old has remained with the squad to train.
"I always have to find the right solution for the group and that's a very difficult line," Southgate said on Tuesday.
"We have a very good understanding of the way that we have worked over the last couple of years, which has brought us a lot of togetherness that is still there.
"We are a united group. Now we have to turn our focus onto the football. We have a hugely important qualifier to reach a European Championship," Southgate added.
Since the incident, Sterling has apologised to Gomez and the rest of the squad, stating that he is "man enough to admit when emotions got the better of me" and that the incident was a "five to 10-second thing" that has been blown out of proportion.
Despite the controversy, England will still be confident of qualifying for Euro 2020, with a point against Montenegro on Thursday enough to guarantee their place in the tournament.
Even in Sterling's absence, Southgate is blessed with an array of attacking talent, including Harry Kane, Jadon Sancho, and Marcus Rashford, that should continue England's free-scoring form.
However, the incident has been criticised by some, including former England defender Rio Ferdinand, who questioned why the matter couldn't have been handled internally.
