Raheem Sterling laments England's 'silly mistakes' against Netherlands

Silly mistakes were to blame in England's Nations League semifinal defeat to Netherlands, feels Raheem Sterling.

Raheem Sterling blamed "silly mistakes" for England's defeat to Netherlands in the semifinals of the Nations League.

England was beaten 3-1 in Guimaraes despite having taken a first-half lead thanks to Marcus Rashford's penalty. Matthijs de Ligt headed the equaliser for Ronald Koeman's side, who capitalised on England's lapses in concentration in extra time.

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John Stones' error led to a Quincy Promes shot deflecting in off Kyle Walker, then Ross Barkley's mistake allowed the Netherlands substitute to secure a final berth against Portugal.

Sterling captained England on his 50th international appearance but the Manchester City forward accepted his side cost itself a chance of reaching Sunday's showpiece. "I thought we soaked up pressure well, towards the end of the second half we were the better team, but made silly mistakes and we got punished for it," Sterling said to Sky Sports .

 

"They got their pressing right on the night and we made two mistakes, we tried at times but it didn't work."

England has lost international semifinals in successive years after falling at the same stage in Russia at the 2018 World Cup. But Sterling feels the Three Lions can still take positives from their efforts despite another defeat in the last four.

"We still made progress to get to this stage," Sterling added. "It's about kicking on and trying to do the last bit."