Sterling captain on 50th England appearance, Kane benched

Raheem Sterling will captain England on his 50th international appearance after Harry Kane was named on the bench for the Nations League Finals last-four clash against Netherlands.

Manchester City forward Sterling will enjoy the honour at Estadio D. Afonso Henrique, where the pitch passed an inspection following torrential afternoon rain in Guimaraes.

Virgil van Dijk starts at centre-back for Ronald Koeman’s side, with Gareth Southgate taking a more cautious approach with the Champions League finalists in his squad.

Fellow Liverpool player Georginio Wijnaldum is included in the Netherlands’ starting line-up, just five days after playing an hour of the 2-0 win over Tottenham.

Dele Alli, Jordan Henderson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Eric Dier, Joe Gomez and Danny Rose all join Kane on the England bench.

Sterling, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford ensure the front three charged with breaking down Van Dijk and Matthijs de Ligt possesses plenty of pace, while England’s midfield trio of Declan Rice, Fabian Delph and Ross Barkley must deal with Barcelona-bound star Frenkie de Jong.

The winners will face Portugal in Sunday’s final at Porto’s Estadio do Dragao, with the losers back in Guimaraes to take on Switzerland in the third-place match.

Congratulations, @sterling7

Our captain tonight as he wins his 50th cap for the #ThreeLions! pic.twitter.com/FxyMtMZsYY

— England (@England) June 6, 2019