England coach Gareth Southgate stands by his decision to axe Manchester City attacker Raheem Sterling from his starting XI for thier Euros qualifier with Montenegro.

Sterling's axing from England's clash against Montenegro was 'the right thing' for the national team, Southgate has explained following his bust-up with Liverpool defender Joe Gomez.

Southgate said on Monday: “We have taken the decision to not consider Raheem for the match against Montenegro on Thursday.

“One of the great challenges and strengths for us is that we've been able to separate club rivalries from the national team. Unfortunately the emotions of yesterday's game were still raw.

“My feeling is that the right thing for the team is the action we have taken.

"Now that the decision has been made with the agreement of the entire squad, it's important that we support the players and focus on Thursday night."