Plenty of news had been emerging from the England camp in the week up to England’s World Cup opener, but one of the most common storylines concerns Bukayo Saka’s fitness.
Bukayo Saka continues to nurse an Achilles injury that kept him out of England’s warm up games before the tournament started, and now it seems to have kept him out of the starting XI.
But there to step up for England was another Arsenal winger with Nigerian blood in his veins in the form of Noni Madueke, who performed excellently for England as they ran out 4-2 winners against Croatia, leaving many to wonder whether Madueke may have pinched the starting spot from his club teammate.
Madueke thrives in place of Bukayo Saka
With Madueke handed the starting place on the right wing, he got off to a great start in the game, winning the penalty that was eventually converted, after a retake, by Harry Kane. Madueke went on to have a very good game, being a constant danger on the right wing.
Although he didn’t have any goal contributions to show for his work, all three of the goals England scored with him on the pitch originated from play down his right hand side. Saka eventually came on in the second half, and while playing well he struggled to have the impact that Madueke had.
That could be due to Saka’s fitness. Saka has clearly been struggling with injuries and fitness even during the domestic season, so it’s clear he’s not entirely himself. But given his talent, and given his huge amount of fans and supporters, not just in England but across the world, like in Nigeria, it’s a bit of a shock to exclude him. Nigerian fans can bet on the World Cup with this bet9ja promotion code courtesy of GOAL.
Has Madueke proven himself a better fit for England?
Although it’s easy to chalk up the difference in performances between Saka and Madueke to Saka’s fitness troubles, some fans might have to start approaching the difficult question that Madueke is the better fit for Thomas Tuchel’s England line-up.
Certainly no one sane would’ve said that prior to kick-off against Croatia, but Madueke proved to do exactly what was asked of him; he created chances, he moved the ball, he went at his opponent, he turned that right flank into a serious problem for the Croatian defence, and was crucial in plenty of England chances.
With Harry Kane’s specialist role involving him dropping deep, he needs direct wingers to work off him, and Madueke might be a viable alternative compared to a Bukayo Saka exhausted off the back of a long campaign and hampered by injury.
One of Tuchel’s key philosophies seems to be about genuinely deploying his squad depth, so it seems that no matter who is favoured between Saka and Madueke, both will play crucial roles in England’s World Cup campaign. Saka, despite his pedigree, is in for a serious fight for his place.
