The Arsenal youngster was everywhere as Gareth Southgate’s side produced a performance that was actually fun to watch
A curious thing happened on Tuesday night. England played a European Championship game at Wembley and it was – and I had to look this word up, so apologies if the meaning isn’t quite right – enjoyable. People sang and cheered. The national stadium, so often a theatre of irritations, felt contented and boisterous. England shuffled diffidently – and not without a few grumbles – into the last 16. And on a night when Jordan Henderson and Harry Maguire made their return, England’s leader on the field was a 19‑year‑old from west London with five caps to his name.
Electrifying teenage attacker dances his way through a major tournament defence. We all think we’ve seen this film before, and if you listen closely you can probably already hear the weepy BBC montage at its end. But amid the complications and the paradoxes of England’s performance here, the uncertain fates and futures, one fact at least felt clear enough. As “It’s Coming Home” rained down from the stands, the stage belonged to a man born just a 92 bus ride from Wembley. Welcome – belatedly – to the summer of Bukayo Saka.
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