Bukayo Saka might now be breaking ankles for a living, but once upon a time, when coming through at Arsenal, he was used as a left-back.
Those defensive traits of his game still haven’t left him, as he showed during an England training session at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Acting as a defender, the Arsenal young gun, up against Chelsea star Raheem Sterling, ensured his England teammate didn’t go past him when in a one-on-one situation.
This wasn’t a small-sided game, but just Sterling trying to beat the 21-year-old, as Manchester City’s Jack Grealish watched on in the background.
But Chelsea’s £48 million man (Sky Sports) wasn’t able to beat Saka, with the Hale-End star timing his tackle to perfection and then bursting out with laughter.
Sterling himself did walk away chucking, as you see in the footage from England’s official YouTube account (2m44secs).
SAKA AND STERLING TO START AGAINST WALES?
England’s final Group B game will be against neighbours Wales and it provides Gareth Southgate with an ample chance of making some changes.
Both Sterling and Saka have started the opening two matches, they thrived in the first and were less effective against the USA.
Will Southgate continue to go strong in order to be at full throttle for the knockout stages? One thing is for sure, a certain Phil Foden needs to be handed a start because a player of his calibre will probably walk into most teams at the World Cup, but for Southgate, he is warming the bench more than he is causing havoc out on the pitch.
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