Sterling smiles in public video but remains absent from World Cup squad amid four criminal charges
England's former winger looks relaxed two weeks after his arrest in Hampshire. The charges remain — and the 2026 World Cup kicks off without Sterling.
Raheem Sterling smiled for the camera. He was eating, relaxed, sitting beside a famous friend — as if the last few weeks had never happened. But they did.
Roughly two weeks after being arrested in Hampshire, England, the 31-year-old forward made his first public appearance in a video posted by presenter Guy Phoenix, according to ge. In the clip, Sterling looks in good spirits over a meal — while Phoenix jokes that the player is being "forced" to watch one of his YouTube videos.
The light-hearted mood stands in sharp contrast to the seriousness of the charges. Sterling is on bail facing four counts: dangerous driving, suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs, possession of Class C substances, and refusing to provide a sample for testing. All of this after he crashed his Lamborghini — valued at around R$ 1.8 million — on a local road, following witness reports that the car had been "weaving between lanes." No one was injured.
Developed at Liverpool, Sterling shone at Manchester City, winning the Premier League and other titles, before going on to represent Arsenal and Chelsea. Last season he moved to Feyenoord in the Netherlands, but failed to score in eight appearances. For the England national team, he earned 82 caps, scored 20 goals, and featured at three World Cups — 2014, 2018, and 2022. Since Qatar, however, there has been no call-up.
And the 2026 World Cup arrives without him. England, whom the Golmetria model gives a 6.43% chance of lifting the trophy, will chase glory without one of the faces who defined recent generations of the Three Lions. The smile in the video is reassuring — but it does nothing to erase the uncertainty over what comes next for Sterling, on and off the pitch.