How Saka used the World Cup to establish his standing for England

Few players manage to steal the spotlight off of Kylian Mbappe, but Bukayo Saka did just that in England’s World Cup quarter-final clash with France.  

Ahead of the game, all of the focus was on how Gareth Southgate's side would stop Mbappe from adding to the five goals he had already notched in his four previous outings for Les Bleus. It was almost an obsession.  

Limit Mbappe, limit France.  

England did the former. You could argue that they also did the latter, but Didier Deschamps’ side still managed to find a way to win. A sign of true champions.  

Mbappe, though, managed just one shot, played one key pass and completed just 33% of his attempted dribbles in what was an underwhelming performance for the PSG attacker, at least on an individual level.  

By comparison, Saka was the star of the show for the Three Lions. He made that much of an impression that L’Equipe, famed for their harsh ratings, gave him a seven. It was a score only Hugo Lloris could better.  

Saka was also the only England player to finish with a WhoScored rating of higher than seven (7.25). The 21-year-old was replaced by Raheem Sterling after 79 minutes having played two key passes and it was his driving run into the area that forced Theo Hernandez to stick out a leg and foul him for the first penalty.  

The Arsenal No. 7 was actually fouled three times on the night, though it should’ve been four as the Dayot Upamecano one prior to the first France goal was as blatant as they come. Those in blue struggled to contain Saka and he completely nullified Hernandez as a threat on that side of the pitch. It will be overlooked, but that no doubt played a part in England being able to limit what Mbappe could and couldn’t do on the night.  

England seemed to lose their momentum after Saka was replaced. We know Sterling is a  threat, but you could almost see the relief from those in blue as soon as the left-footed, 24-cap international headed for the touchline.  

Jamie Redknapp and Ruud Gullit both said similar.  

Speaking to Sky Sports, Redknapp said: "He (Theo Hernandez) couldn’t handle Bukayo Saka, he was too much for Hernandez all game. I must admit I couldn’t believe that Gareth took him off. Even if we’d have got a goal and gone to extra-time, he was the player that every time we got the ball to him, it gets you on the edge of your seat." 

While Gullit, a pundit for beIN, seemed to question the logic behind the change: "Saka was the only one who was really, really good. Why did you take him off?" 

Ahead of the game, there was talk that Saka might miss out on a place in Southgate’s starting XI. Raheem Sterling had flown back to Qatar and was in the mix for a start having missed the win over Senegal. Marcus Rashford was in with a shout of a start, too. His direct, aggressive style would’ve been a threat to the French defenders, on paper at least. 

Yet despite him not being in some predicted XIs, Saka showed exactly why he is considered a key cog in this England team by Southgate.  

In fact, he has had a deceptively impressive World Cup. Saka finished as the joint-top goalscorer for England with three goals alongside Rashford. He was also the highest-rated England player at the World Cup, finishing with a WhoScored rating of 7.68. 

In a squad littered with talented forwards, Saka stood out. In a game that contained perhaps the most productive attacker in world football today, Saka was the biggest threat. Ultimately, the 2022 World Cup ended in disappointment for England, but it should be a stepping stone for Saka to go onto bigger and better things.