After 22 minutes of England’s opening Euro 2024 group game, Serbia’s Strahinja Pavlovic defeated Bukayo Saka in a sight that was almost comfortingly familiar.
By then Saka had already given England the lead with a deflected cross for Jude Bellingham, having raced away from Pavlovic. He was also turning Serbia’s left-sided defense inside out repeatedly.
Saka is often subjected to harsh treatment by battling defenders at Arsenal, especially after he has passed them at least once. In this specific situation, Pavlovic may have shown some discipline by delaying fouling his tormentor for a considerable amount of time.
Saka struggled to train properly in the warm-up camp after concluding the domestic season with a groin ailment, so it was easy to forget that he was not totally fit going into the European Championship when watching him race in Serbia.
Additionally, there were persistent worries that the 22-year-old would be fatigued after an exhausting season in which he made 52 appearances for both club and country and in which Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta rarely gave him a break.
Saka, though, appeared rejuvenated in Gelsenkirchen’s first half before faltering and was substituted for the last fifteen minutes as England managed to hold on for a 1-0 victory.
With all of Gareth Southgate’s depth in attacking areas, Saka’s return to form and intensity are good news for England, and the manager wants him to be at his best in Germany this summer.
Saka, who was born in Ealing, has quietly been awarded England’s player of the year for the past two seasons. Harry Kane may be England’s striker and statesman, yet Bellingham is becoming their talisman and figurehead.
Members of the England fans’ club choose the winner because they have a solid understanding of who consistently performs well for their nation.
Bellingham and Kane, whose ideal positions are still up for question, don’t feel as comfortable in their roles as Saka does, just one day before England’s second group match against Denmark in Frankfurt.
Saka is completely ignored in the midst of all the wringing of hands and chin-stroking over how to get the best out of the two, as well as Trent Alexander-Arnold and Phil Foden.
Although both Foden and Cole Palmer of Chelsea, the Premier League Player and Young Player of the Season, respectively, like to play from the right, it’s undeniable that either could replace Saka on the wing. Jarrod Bowen, a winger for West Ham who substituted in against Serbia, is most likely to be his backup in Germany.
Saka is widely regarded as England’s strongest option down the right flank. Southgate will find great value in his directness and steady output, especially with Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford absent from the team.
Few forwards are as destructive as Saka when he isolates a defender; as Pavlovic can attest, his ability to play both ways makes him an absolute terror.
Saka’s assist for Bellingham marked his 27th goal in 24 England starts, demonstrating his incredible consistency on the global stage.
Foden, on the other hand, has had difficulty reproducing his Manchester City form while wearing an England shirt, and Eberechi Eze, Palmer, Bowen, Anthony Gordon, and Bowen are all lacking in experience.
The only players in Southgate’s lineup with more than four goals for their country and a track record of making big decisions at the end of competitions are Kane and Saka.
Saka scored in England’s World Cup last-16 victory over Senegal eighteen months ago, and he also set up England’s equalizer against their opponents in tomorrow’s Euro 2020 semifinal.
He was perhaps England’s greatest player in the quarter-final loss to France, gaining their first penalty and giving the French left-back, Theo Hernandez, the Pavlović treatment the entire way.
Saka, however, left this competition with unfinished business after also going missing from the spot in England’s penalty-shootout loss to Italy in the final.
Saka’s debut tournament for England was Euro 2020, however the way the competition concluded may have had an effect on less notable personalities. Rather than letting the incident at Wembley haunt him, he has bounced back by becoming Arsenal’s top penalty taker and England’s most reliable player.
Saka’s current goal is to assist England in recovering from their loss to Italy, and he appears ready to play a key role if they are to win the championship this summer.