The Liverpool attacker produced a stirring display in the No10 role against Italy in his side’s opening Group D fixture, despite finishing on the losing team.
But Sterling, 19, insists he is not letting the excitement and grandeur of appearing at football’s showpiece spectacle affect him.
He said: “For any young lad to make an appearance in such a big tournament was a dream come true but when I was on the pitch I just tried to think of it as a normal game.
Sterling impressed against Italy
“To play in such a big tournament and to start made me feel a bit nervous at the time but I thought it was a great opportunity to go out and show the football world what I can do. Hopefully by the end of the game I showed some glimpses.
“I tried not to really think about the importance of the game and tried to express myself and do my best for the team but we were really disappointed not to get the win.
"There’s no point trying to say it was an exciting game and we played really well when we haven’t won the game.”
Sterling revealed he has been speaking to England teammate Wayne Rooney about coping with the pressures of playing at the highest level of international football.
Rooney has featured in four tournaments with England since making his bow at Euro 2004 and Sterling claims the advice the Manchester United striker has given him has been invaluable so far.
He added: " I speak to Wayne a lot. He tells me to relax, express myself and enjoy it - play the game and not think too much about what’s going on...'play your normal game and you’ll be fine.’
“I try to take some elements from his play - some of the things he does with the ball - I try to learn from that.
"He’s someone I look up to and to be training with him now has been a real honour"
Sterling on Rooney
“He's a world class player who I watched when I was growing up. He’s someone I look up to and to be training with him now over these last couple of weeks has been a real honour.
“He works really hard and he’s always improving as well so I’m really glad to have someone like him in the team I can look up to.”
There has been a lot of debate in the media about whether Rooney or Sterling should start behind Daniel Sturridge against Uruguay in Sao Paulo on Thursday, but Sterling claims he will play wherever Roy Hodgson wants him to.
He added: "It’s up to the manager to decide but out on the wing is my normal position so with Wayne's vision and passing abilities and my running abilities it could be a really good thing but as I said...it’s up to the manager."
