This is the moment England sensation Raheem Sterling pays tribute to Dagenham schoolboy and Crystal Palace youth-team player Damary Dawkins.

Barking and Dagenham Post: England's Raheem Sterling celebrates scoring his side's third goal of the game and shows a t-shirt in memory of former Crystal Palace youth player Damary Dawkins during the UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifying, Group A match at Wembley Stadium, London. Picture: Nick Potts/PA Wire.England's Raheem Sterling celebrates scoring his side's third goal of the game and shows a t-shirt in memory of former Crystal Palace youth player Damary Dawkins during the UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifying, Group A match at Wembley Stadium, London. Picture: Nick Potts/PA Wire. (Image: PA Wire)

He paid the heartwarming shirt tribute to the 13-year-old boy as he celebrated his second goal in the 5-0 win over the Czech Republic at Wembley last night.

Sterling delivered a tour de force display in England’s opening Euro 2020 qualifier at Wembley, scoring a hat-trick and winning a penalty that was converted by Harry Kane.

After scoring his second goal and England’s third, Sterling lifted his jersey to reveal a t-shirt that had a picture of him and the teenager, who died on Sunday after a battle with leukaemia.

The Manchester City forward told ITV1: “Damary was a kid that I was trying to help and we thought that we found a donor. Sadly it didn’t match and he sadly passed away.

Barking and Dagenham Post: England's Raheem Sterling scores his side's third goal of the game during the UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifying, Group A match at Wembley Stadium, London. Picture: Steven Paston/PA Wire.England's Raheem Sterling scores his side's third goal of the game during the UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifying, Group A match at Wembley Stadium, London. Picture: Steven Paston/PA Wire. (Image: PA Wire)

“I thought I had to do something to try to give his family something to smile about.”

He later added on Twitter: “Special night in so many ways RIP Damary, gone but u will never be forgotten.”

Sterling grew up in a house near to England’s national stadium so he was understandably delighted with his contribution towards a comprehensive victory.

Standing by the Wembley pitch, the 24-year-old said on England’s Twitter channel: “It was a great feeling, the most important was the first (goal) to carry on from the game I had against Spain. That was the best moment for me.

“I’m excited. I’m in my hometown, this is what dreams are made of, so I’m really happy to see it come true. We carry on, we’ve got a game on Monday (against Montenegro) and we need to follow up.”

While his excellent performance will garner headlines, Sterling was eager to pay tribute to young trio Jadon Sancho, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Declan Rice.

Sancho was handed his first competitive start by Gareth Southgate and teed up Sterling for his opener, while Rice and Hudson-Odoi had impressive cameos as they came off the bench in the second half for their England debuts.

Sterling added: “They’re playing for their clubs and they’re special talents, every single one of them. Jadon, I’ve seen numerous times and every time I’ve seen him I get excited.

“Callum has probably had a limited amount of games at Chelsea but he’s the same again, every time I’ve seen him I’ve been really excited.

“And also, Declan as well, he’s really mature and for a holding midfielder, he’s using the ball well. I’m just happy that they’re English to be honest with you.”

A crowd fundraising page has been launched by a close friend of Damary’s parents Tony and Nadine to pay for his funeral as they had to take a considerable amout of time off work during their son’s illness.

To make a donation visit gofundme.com/damary-dawkins-campaign.