Borussia Dortmund and England winger Jadon Sancho has sent a message of congratulations to Arsenal ace Bukayo Saka after his excellent performance during the Three Lions’ 1-0 win over the Czech Republic at Wembley last night.
Requiring a victory to ensure they won Group D, England got the job done thanks to an early header from Raheem Sterling, who took his tally of goals for the rearranged tournament to two.
The Manchester City winger nodded home Jack Grealish’s cross from close range, but much of the work before hand was owed to Saka, who used his pace and athleticism to great effect to put the Czech Republic defenders on the back foot.
Considering that this was Saka’s first appearance at a major international tournament, the 19-year-old did not look out of place, delivering a starring role on the right-wing.
His performance, which lasted 84 minutes before being replaced by Sancho, saw him scoop the official Player of the Match award, meaning he had a treasured memory to saviour.
And for Sancho, who is in direct competition with Saka for a place in Gareth Southgate’s team, he could not have been happier for the Arsenal youngster.
Taking to Instagram, Sancho posted a picture on his story of Saka with his Player of the Match gong, writing: “Too happy for this guy, took his opportunity like I told him to!
“Family @bukayoSaka87.”
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Considering a number of England fans were unimpressed by Southgate’s decision to include Saka in the starting line-up over Sancho, with Phil Foden being left out of the team for the first time, the Arsenal winger did more than enough to justify his inclusion.
Although Foden will now be knocking on the door for a recall, Saka has done himself no harm to his chances of retaining his place in the side for next Tuesday’s round-of-16 tussle against one of France, Germany, Portugal or Hungary.
All four of those sides play this evening, meaning England will soon know who will visit Wembley in less than a week’s time.