Bukayo Saka: A Final Nail on Super Eagles

Nigeria Football Federation’s ‘VIP Scouting’ has been very effective as many European footballers of Nigeria descent have been drafted into the country’s national team. With FIFA new rules on players’ international allegiance, Nigerians were still hoping that one of the players on the federation’s wishlist-Bukayo Saka may still star for the country of his fatherland. The Arsenal forward may however may be saying final goodbye to the Super Eagles as he is set to star for the Three Lions of England at the Euro 2020 later this month. Though not many would have put their money on Saka making the star-studded England final list, injury to Manchester United’s Mason Greenwood also helped his course

Bukayo Saka capped off a great week with his first goal for England, fulfilling a dream he’s held since he was a child.

As England get their Euro preparations underway, Saka proved Gareth Southgate right for selecting him by scoring England’s only goal of the game, which also happened to be the winner against Austria as the Three Lions registered a 1-0 win.

Tweeting after the game, Saka said “The moment I always dreamt of growing up.”
Despite picking him as their Man of the Match and noting that he was kicked an awful lot, the Daily Mail somehow preferred to give their headline to Jack Grealish.
After calling Bukayo Saka up to his final list of 26 for the European Championships, England boss Gareth Southgate has explained why he did so.

Bukayo Saka was one of the lucky 26 to make Gareth Southgate’s final England squad for the European Championships on Tuesday, avoiding being one of the seven players cut from the initial 33-man shortlist.

The second-youngest member of the group, it’s an encouraging sign of the faith in Saka that he’s been selected to join his country for a major international tournament.
Speaking to the media after the decision was confirmed, Southgate explained how Saka had made the cut.

“Firstly, he has performed exceptionally well for us and well in a team that has had a difficult season,” Southgate said.
“Sometimes young players can go into teams that are playing well and flourish. He’s gone into a team that have had a tough season and has really played with character as well as skill.

“Again we saw when he had to come on in Belgium last autumn, real personality in his performance. His adaptability, the fact he can play four or five different positions is a real plus for us.”

Saka has made four appearances for England since his senior international debut in October. He could have made more, after being called up over the March break, but an injury held him back on that occasion.

The 19-year-old is likely to get another chance to impress in England’s last pre-tournament friendly against Romania tomorrow, particularly as the squad is currently somewhat weakened by a few injuries and the late arrival of those featuring in European finals last week.

There were many surprised pundits around when Saka was even included in Southgate’s final England squad for the Euros, given the wealth of young talent at his disposal at the moment.

But the Arsenal youngster made the final cut, and Southgate even played him in his opening friendly against Austria on Wednesday night, and to cap it all off, Saka scored the only goal of the game.

It would appear that Saka may well have earned a starting spot in the Group games after listening to the high praise that Southgate gave Saka after the game. Southgate told TeesideLive after the game: “I thought both Saka and Bellingham were excellent.
“They were as they’ve been since they’ve walked through the door with us.
“In training and matches they’ve played with confidence and freedom, they’ve played with maturity too.

“I thought Bukayo right from the start linked the game really well. He received the ball well on the line and on the inside, he’s got a lovely ability to receive in traffic in the infield and manipulate his way through. He’s like a slippery eel getting away from those challenges.

“He produced a nice run on the outside with a nice cutback cross, so yeah I thought his all-round game having worked hard defensively for the team was excellent.
“I was really pleased with him and for him to get the goal.”