England defender Gary Cahill has heaped praise on Raheem Sterling following a week in which the Manchester City winger was in the headlines for off-the-pitch reasons.

Sterling was criticised for having a tattoo of a gun on his leg and also reported late to the England squad for their World Cup preparations, but manager Gareth Southgate nonetheless named him in his starting lineup for this evening's friendly win over Nigeria.

The 23-year-old courted more controversy when he was booked for diving during the 2-1 victory, but Cahill believes that he deserves credit for his handling of the situation.

"It is to be expected but at the same time it would be nice if it was positive. Nevertheless, Raheem has been fantastic with it all, he manages that situation very, very well. Kept working hard, kept his focus and I think today you saw a performance that, apart from scoring a goal, he was very lively," Cahill told reporters.

"So credit to him he has had to come over that but it is to be expected for whatever reason. I think first and foremost he has conducted himself fantastically well this week, he has managed that situation very well.

"He has come out today in front of a huge crowd and performed very well. He created quite a few chances... [there are] no issues, he played very well today, the lads are delighted and the goals are just around the corner for him I'm sure."

England will next take on Costa Rica in their final warm-up game before their World Cup campaign gets underway on June 18.