Bukayo Saka Prepares for World Cup Quarter-Final Against Norway

Bukayo Saka walks into this World Cup quarter-final with the look of a man who has come through the worst of it.

The England winger arrived in the United States short of full fitness, his workload carefully managed, his minutes rationed. Now, on the eve of a meeting with Norway in Kansas City, he sounds like a player who has finally caught up with the tournament.

“I think across the tournament my minutes have been building and building,” he said. “Of course I would have loved to have come to the tournament at 100% but that wasn't the case and everyone has realised that and has managed me in the best way possible, but right now I'm feeling great and ready to go.”

The recovery has been physical, but not just that. England’s camp has tried to strike a delicate balance: intensity when the boots are on, calm when they’re off.

“There’s been a nice balance between a real focus and intensity in training and when it's our downtime having that relaxed mindset and enjoying with the boys and our families in Kansas City,” Saka explained.

The Mexico game – wild, chaotic, draining – has already taken on the feel of a turning point. England were pushed to the brink, then dragged themselves back. For Saka, the belief was never in question inside the dressing room. The message was aimed elsewhere.

“For us, we believed and we believed from the start,” he said. “The belief was more for the people back home and them seeing us go through that adversity and see us come out on top was important for all of us.

“How players that haven't been playing came on and the players that have been produced some big moments again. Everyone had their contribution and it was just an amazing night for us as a camp.

“Our spirits are high and we need to take it into the next game.”

Saka’s own role has swung between starter and impact substitute, but his approach, he insists, does not waver.

“Each game has been unique for me but my mindset doesn't really change much – I come on, whether I start or not, and I try and do what the game needs. It's about winning and that's my mindset.”

Mexico in the rear-view, Norway straight ahead

The drama of that Mexico tie could easily have lingered. England have seen tournaments unravel on the back of emotional highs before. This time, the message has been to enjoy it, then move on.

“We discussed that we need to put the drama and the emotions of the Mexico game behind us now,” Saka said. “We soaked in all of the praise and everything that came with it but now we need to focus on Norway which is going to be a tough challenge.

“We’re fully focused and buzzing that we're winning.

“Norway are a very good team – they play with confidence and a directness and that's been working for them so far.”

Directness. Confidence. In this Norway side, those qualities have a face and a name: Erling Haaland.

‘Erling is Erling’

Nico O’Reilly knows that face well. The Manchester City midfielder has seen Haaland from the inside, seen the movement, the power, the relentlessness at close quarters. He doesn’t dress it up.

“Yeah, a lot of confidence,” O’Reilly said of England’s mood after beating Mexico. “We had confidence going into that game and we have got confidence going into this game. We believe in ourselves, trust our abilities and we go from there.”

Then came the inevitable question: what makes Haaland different?

“Erling is Erling. We all know what he is like. He can score goals, he is dangerous in the box and he is a real threat.”

The plan is not to obsess over him, but nobody at City or in this England squad is naïve enough to pretend he can be ignored.

On how the City contingent can help England prepare, O’Reilly added: “I guess it takes a toll in it but I think keeping Erling quiet gives us a real chance to win the game. Given all the threat he can cause, unbelievable striker, world-class. He showed that throughout the tournament, scoring in every game he has played in. We are mainly focusing on ourselves and focusing on our game rather than his.”

That phrase – focusing on themselves – has become a recurring theme. England have history at this stage of tournaments now. They have scars too. They know what it feels like to carry expectation into a knockout game where one moment can define a generation.

Haaland flips the pressure

On the other side of the tie, Haaland has chosen to lean into that narrative and twist it. Norway, back at a World Cup for the first time since 1998, have already gone further than many expected. Quarter-finalists after finishing second in Group I and then taking out Ivory Coast and Brazil, they travel without the weight of history.

England do not.

Asked if all the pressure sat on the English shoulders, Haaland did not hesitate.

“Yes, definitely,” the Manchester City striker replied. “I think there's some clear favourites out there, England's one of them.”

With a smile, he nudged the spotlight even further onto Thomas Tuchel’s team.

“I think all of you should put every single [bit of] pressure on the English lads.

“Yeah, they [England fans] should be confident of progressing, definitely. It's England.”

For Norway, this is already a landmark run. Haaland admitted the scale of it has taken even him by surprise.

“I didn't expect it. To be honest, to be in the quarter-finals with Norway in the World Cup is quite surprising even for me,” he said.

“Playing against Brazil was kind of crazy for us Norwegians and to win against Brazil and then go and play England in the quarter-finals in the World Cup in the USA is quite special.

“It's difficult to take everything in because you need to kind of just play the game like it's a training session.

“I think if you watch the scenes back in Norway, this is not normal for Norway to be, so it's super special.”

A nation on edge

Back home, the debate has already started. On BBC Radio 5 Live’s phone-in, the quarter-final has been pulled apart from every angle.

Freddy, from South London, sees opportunity rather than danger.

“I don’t see England losing tomorrow,” he said. “I think in terms of a team that we could have played, a quarter-final against Norway is a team that we will know a lot about. We know a lot about their players. This will be our best opportunity to get through to a semi-final. It will be like playing a really high-quality Premier League game.

“England players will be comfortable playing this game. There will be a predictability about Norway that England will be ready for. England could not have been paired with a better team at this stage.”

Monica, a Norway fan living in Leeds, pinned her hopes on the one man everyone keeps talking about.

“I think Haaland is an incredible striker,” she said. “In some of the goals he has scored in the tournament, he’s almost at walking pace, doesn’t look like he’s interested in the game, then takes one or two big strides and big jump and brings it into the back of the net in a big way. If Norway is going to have a chance, we of course rely on Haaland being on really good form.”

Bradley, an England fan based in Oslo, captured the national mood in a single breath: confidence, with a knot of anxiety at the centre.

“A few days ago, I felt very confident but some little nerves are kicking in now with all the injuries and illnesses.”

That is the backdrop as England head into another World Cup quarter-final: a fit-again Saka talking about winning above all else, a squad insisting they trust themselves, a generational striker on the other side promising to enjoy the freedom of being the underdog.

The pressure, as Haaland keeps reminding anyone who will listen, belongs to England. The question now is whether that weight fuels them, or finally drags them down.