Said it before about his right foot but now even someone who faced him acknowledges it. He incorporates it a lot when he is carrying the ball even though sometimes his right foot can be suspect when shooting.
Judging from what a few players have said about facing him he must be one of the toughest players to defend against in the world.
Starting in a World Cup quarter final, our boy is a bit of a gem.
Hope he does himself justice tonight. Theo Hernandez is terrific going forwards but Bukayo should be fancying himself against him when he’s got the ball.
Mbappe works quite hard down that left wide for France despite being the talisman but there will be 1v1 opportunities for Saka tonight. Massive stage for him to show his quality. Come on lad!
His pleasant personality off the pitch hides how much of a stone cold killer he is as a competitor.
He came into the England setup as a left wingback, with the wide forward positions stacked with established stars like Sterling, Rashford, and Grealish as well as much more heralded stars-in-the-making like Foden and Sancho. And he has just accepted the challenge, kept his head down, and beaten out all of them.
I thought this match showed why he is ultimately better than Foden, who is the only player in that group who really is on the same level. Foden is brilliant but he only truly shines when the team around him is technical and dominant. Saka can do that too, but he also can be the guy who actually takes responsibility to make shit happen when you need a spark and nobody else is doing much of anything and the defense is well organized and packed deep. Once France went up 1-0 and started playing more defensively, almost everything good that happened for England involved Saka getting on the ball and taking the initiative to make something happen.
I genuinely can’t believe how wrong I was about him. He’s a big game player and also just a constant thorn. Even when he doesn’t look like he’s being effective he’s clearly doing things to help the team.
I deserve a scolding for my opinion on his talents.
Well, it can’t be understated that a big part of it comes down to his rapid growth. Him and Martinelli are growing at a frightening pace.
Both of them should be examples for the younger guys to follow. Neither of them were hyped up as youngsters. Their best quality really is their mentality and wits.
Anyway, I think Emile was hyped up from the academies. He did make a massive jump last season by becoming a goal threat when it really wasn’t in his locker the season before.
He still has work to do on his fitness though. Hope we see him back on the pitch soon.