Saka named best England player at World Cup but fans still puzzled

12/08/2022

World Cup 2022 briefing: Day 18

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Arsenal supporters have rejoiced in the news that Bukayo Saka is currently rated as England’s standout World Cup performer ahead of a crunch quarter-final with France. While few can doubt the notion that Saka has been sensational in Qatar, some Three Lions fans have been quick to point out the solid performances of three players who didn’t even make it into the top 10.

Saka was given a major vote of confidence by Gareth Southgate as he started the 6-2 demolition of Iran last month. He repaid the faith by getting on the scoresheet in both halves, cementing himself as one of the key players in England’s World Cup bid.

Along with Jude Bellingham, Saka shone again in the 3-0 victory over Senegal that saw Southgate’s men advance to the last eight. A well-taken goal after the break put the game to bed and it seems likely that he will be picked to start against Les Bleus, who are sure to pose the sternest test so far.

All things considered, it wasn’t much of a surprise to see that WhoScored’s match-rating system saw Saka come out on top over England’s four matches so far, scoring an average of 7.82 out of 10.

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Similarly unsurprising was Jude Bellingham placing just behind, with the Borussia Dortmund midfielder regularly bossing the midfield in Qatar despite being well short of his 20th birthday. Harry Kane and Harry Maguire were also among England’s highest-rated performers, with the likes of Jordan Henderson and Luke Shaw also making the top 10.

Many were surprised to see who didn’t make the cut, however, with Jordan Pickford, Declan Rice and John Stones all earning fans’ respect with their World Cup showings. Reaction to the list on social media was rife, and @leevilla78 queried on Twitter: “Surely John Stones must be in that list? Been mega every game.”

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Elsewhere, @JClarke1880 clearly felt as though England’s undisputed No 1 was worthy of more recognition after keeping three consecutive clean sheets heading into the quarter-finals, as he simply wrote: “Pickford?”.

Others see Rice as crucial to England’s chances of success against France, who have a collection of floating attackers that will attempt to sting the Three Lions between the lines. “Pains me to tweet this, but if Declan Rice does not start on Saturday, we lose against France,” added @lukewyeth.

Speculation has swirled on whether Southgate will be compelled to revert to a back three against Didier Deschamps’ side in an attempt to provide more defensive solidity.

However, reports indicate that the England manager will instead stick with the back four that has served his team well so far during the tournament. That means it could be a big night for Maguire, who headed to Qatar after a prolonged spell of poor form for Manchester United.

At club level, Maguire has been ousted from the starting XI by Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, who are both still in with a shout of lifting the World Cup with France and Argentina respectively. On the international stage, however, the England man continues to keep the likes of Eric Dier and Conor Coady out of the team.

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