Bukayo Saka probably won’t be ready to face Croatia - and England’s manager is ready to roll the dice in response.
As England prepare to get their World Cup campaign underway against Croatia in Dallas on Wednesday, one player still seems to be struggling to get up to full speed – Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka, a key component of Thomas Tuchel’s attacking system whose fitness is becoming an increasing concern.
Bukayo Saka looks increasingly likely to be on the bench against Croatiaplaceholder image
Bukayo Saka looks increasingly likely to be on the bench against Croatia | Getty Images
After restricting Saka to a substitute appearance during the warm-up win over Costa Rica, Tuchel admitted that the 24-year-old is “still not on his 100%” and had not been able to train every day as the England’s squad battled their way through some unusually gruelling training sessions designed to acclimatise them to the heat of the American summer – and there are signs that he may well be on the bench against Croatia, as well.
Bukayo Saka unlikely to start as England prepare to face Croatia
During England’s first training session at their Kansas City base, 10 outfield players reportedly worked away from the main group – the same 10 that had started the game against Costa Rica, an apparent hint at Tuchel’s starting line-up for Wednesday’s match.
That would suggest one significant surprise, with John Stones and Ezri Konsa perhaps lined up to start together at centre-back with Marc Guéhi omitted, but also implies that Saka may be losing his battle to be in the starting line-up as he works his way through an Achilles issue, the latest in a series of fitness problems which bedevilled him throughout the 2025/26 season.
“Bukayo is still getting there, playing through discomfort,” Tuchel told the press last week. “Bukayo is just not there yet. Some things are missing… He is at the moment not able to do every training session through the week and then play.
“He is still going to be managed… I think it is very unlikely Bukayo starts and finishes all the matches from now on.”
Voted as England’s Player of the Year in both 2022 and 2023, Saka’s sharp, instinctive play down the right flank has made him integral to the Three Lions’ attacking set-up and his loss will be exceptionally acute if he is indeed left out against Croatia, who are likely to be England’s sternest opponents in Group L.
Given that the format of the expanded 48-team World Cup is likely to lessen the impact of a disappointing result against Croatia, with eight third-placed teams qualifying for the knockout rounds, keeping Saka wrapped in cotton wool makes a certain amount of sense. Gently bringing him up to full fitness over the opening weeks and then bringing him to bear from the round of 32 onwards could well prove to be England’s best strategy – but that presupposes England’s advancement from a group which also includes Panama and a potentially dangerous Ghanaian team.
Not that Saka has been at his best in recent months anyway. Injuries have hampered Saka considerably over the course of the past year, and he missed 15 matches with hip, hamstring and Achilles issues, while his returns of 11 goals and seven assists in all competitions for Arsenal were both his lowest marks in the past five seasons. England need the best version of Saka, but recent performances suggest that he may not be able to deliver at the highest level unless he gets some time to rest and recuperate.
Noni Madueke is Tuchel’s great gamble – and England’s likely starter
The increasing likelihood that Saka starts on the substitute’s bench against Croatia thrusts his club team-mate Noni Madueke into the spotlight. Saka’s understudy at the Emirates is now in pole position to start ahead of him in Dallas.
One of the more controversial inclusions in Tuchel’s World Cup squad, Madueke showed us both his best and worst sides against Costa Rica – a player who has the daring and directness to be a significant threat down the right wing, but who also lacks some of Saka’s guile and finesse.
His glaring miss of an open goal after he’d done the difficult part by racing onto Jude Bellingham’s through ball and rounding the goalkeeper provided a glimpse into both why Madueke was selected and why plenty of supporters raised their eyebrows in response. He can be both destructive and frustrating.
There is, perhaps, an outside chance that Tuchel turns to Morgan Rogers, who started on the right wing during England’s 1-0 friendly defeat to Japan in March, but the England head coach made his preference for a left-footed player who can cut inside clear when he chose to take Madueke with him to the World Cup instead of Jarrod Bowen. Tuchel is now likely to extend his bet on the upside of an inconsistent player by having Madueke line up opposite Joško Gvardiol on Wednesday.
Madueke enters the tournament having scored just one goal in the last three months, and having only started matches intermittently around Saka’s injuries for Arsenal. Tuchel is a manager who knows his own mind and follows through on his instincts and ideals – selecting and likely starting Madueke represents his greatest leap of faith in his own principles.
Should he fail to find his best form, then it’s likely that a clamour for Saka to start will swiftly follow. The England fanbase trusts Saka. Madueke, with just 11 caps and one international goal to his name, has yet to earn the same confidence. Should he struggle against Croatia, then it will give Tuchel a headache, and another battle to fight against his own supporters.
His failure is far from pre-determined, of course. There are legitimate critiques of his game, of his decision-making, his end product and of a lack of apparent alternatives to cutting inside at pace – but Tuchel believes in his combination of pace, close control and willingness to take defenders on and beat them. By the end of Wednesday night, we may have a better idea of whether or not his faith is justified. We may also know just how much England need Saka.
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