Bukayo Saka's Fitness Challenge Ahead of World Cup
Bukayo Saka knows what it feels like when a stadium shakes for him.
He was at the heart of the wild scenes in north London when the Premier League title finally came back to that part of the capital after 22 long years. He then carried that form onto the biggest club stage of all, starting Arsenal’s Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain, only to leave with the sting of a penalty shootout defeat.
When he is fit, he is central to everything Mikel Arteta wants to do. That is not in doubt. The problem is keeping him there.
A World Cup with a shadow
Saka has dragged a long-standing Achilles issue into England duty, the kind of injury that never quite disappears, only quietens down. It has been loud enough to push him to the bench as the Three Lions opened their World Cup campaign against Croatia, with club team-mate Noni Madueke preferred on the right flank.
He has not yet taken a full part in training as England turn towards a key meeting with Ghana on Tuesday. While his team-mates worked on the grass over the weekend, Saka stayed indoors, following an individual programme, a reminder that his body is still negotiating terms with the tournament.
That is where the debate starts.
Barnes: “It’s his fitness”
Former England winger John Barnes, speaking to GOAL in association with viagogo’s “World Cuts” campaign, cut straight to the point when asked if Saka remains a first-choice option for this World Cup.
“It's his fitness. I mean, his form has been great for Arsenal, but it's his fitness,” Barnes said.
“Madueke is fit, so therefore he may be ahead of him at that particular moment in time. So, obviously, Thomas Tuchel will know how fit he is, how much he can influence games. We know the quality he actually has, so I think it's really just down to his fitness.
“And I don't know how fit he is, how many games he's had, whether Madueke is ahead of him. From a form perspective or a quality perspective, we can see what he can do. So I think his fitness is the biggest issue as to whether he starts for England or not.”
That is the crux: nobody questions Saka’s level. They question whether his body can cash the cheques his talent keeps writing.
Goals, numbers and what really matters
Injury interruptions kept Saka to 11 goals last season, only seven of them in the Premier League. For a 24-year-old forward at a title-winning club, those numbers invite scrutiny.
Barnes is not interested in that kind of accounting.
“His goal output doesn't have to be great if they win the league. And if England wins the World Cup, he doesn't score one goal, it's not important. What's important is him being part of a team that can win,” he said.
“Once again, I don't think Thomas Tuchel is looking at individual numbers because if he scores more and Marcus Rashford scores more, you know what that means? Harry Kane will score less.
“So it's about the way you play to create for other people to score. I don't think he'll worry about his goal-scoring form, because it's not about the individual and what he does. If he can be part of a team and help that team to win, then I'm sure his lack of goals isn't going to be an issue.
“It's to do with how the team performs, to create chances for maybe Jude Bellingham and for Harry Kane to score, for them to work hard as a team, to be creative, and yes, they may score the odd goal. So he's looking at the way the team plays, rather than how any individual performs, Thomas Tuchel, which is the right thing to do.”
For Barnes, Saka’s value lies in his glue work: the pressing, the combinations, the angles he opens for others. Goals are a bonus, not the brief.
Tuchel’s balancing act
Thomas Tuchel has promised to treat Saka with care. England are planning for a long stay in North America, and the manager knows one reckless decision in the group stage could cost him a key weapon when the knockouts arrive.
Against Croatia, Tuchel eased him in from the bench. The response was instant. Saka played a leading role in Marcus Rashford’s goal that rounded off a 4-2 win, a reminder of the sharpness that sits just beneath the surface of his recovery.
“Bukayo is ready and will get more and more ready. I think once we go to the last game of this group he will be ready,” Tuchel said afterwards.
That last group game comes against Panama on Saturday. Between now and then, England face Ghana, with Saka still the only squad member to have missed the full group session over the weekend.
The medical team will urge caution. The player will want minutes. The coach has to choose.
Does Tuchel gamble on accelerating Saka’s involvement to sharpen England’s edge now, or hold his nerve and trust that the winger will be “more and more ready” when the stakes rise?
