Daniel Sturridge Can Have Bright Liverpool Future, but May Miss out for England

ST JAKOB-PARK, BASEL—Liverpool again attacked down the right. The ball was switched from Roberto Firmino to Philippe Coutinho and then to Daniel Sturridge. He was just inside the box, to the left of goal. He squared up the right-back Mariano Ferreira, who was perhaps slightly distracted by the forward surge of Alberto Moreno. Having created the space, Sturridge, with barely a waft of his left foot, arced a shot beyond the lunge of Adil Rami, round the outstretched hand of the diving goalkeeper David Soria, and just inside the post. Had it clipped the woodwork something of the aesthetic might have been lost, but it didn’t; it swooshed into the net and the purity was maintained. The precision of the shot was brilliant, but just as remarkable was the power generated form such an apparently casual swing of the boot. Liverpool led in the Europa League final.

Sturridge is a player capable of such moments of brilliance. He does appear to be returning to form after his latest injury. Perhaps the tough love of Jurgen Klopp–urging him to understand the difference between “pain” and “real pain”, is paying off. His movement was good, as it had been in the second leg of the semi-final against Villarreal; he kept finding gaps, kept running in behind the defensive line, in the first half at least. Here, it seemed, was a world-class player.

The thought occurred, and was repeated in various forms on social media, that with Sturridge in form, England are blessed with an unusual glut of gifted forwards. How could Roy Hodgson possibly leave him out? How could he prefer Wayne Rooney to Sturridge. And so again was exposed the major problem of international management, or at least international management as it stands in relation to public opinion, which is that every time a player does something good, every time a player hits form, a lobby forms demanding their inclusion.

But football is not just about picking the best players. It’s about finding the right blend. It is just about conceivable that England could play with Harry Kane flanked by Jamie Vardy and …

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