After the England player produced an incredible treble against North Macedonia and had one of his best nights ever, Gareth Southgate praised Bukayo Saka.
After defeating Malta 4-0 on Friday to follow up victories in March over Italy and Ukraine, the team put on a display on Monday as their Euro 2024 qualification process continued to go smoothly.
Marcus Rashford and Kalvin Phillips' contributions at Old Trafford, where Saka was the star of the 7-0 thrashing of North Macedonia, supplemented Harry Kane's brace.
At the start of the second half, he scored a ferocious goal from a tight angle, then immediately completed the first hat-trick of his career with an incredible second goal.
After a great performance that was made all the more impressive by Southgate's admission that Saka had been struggling with an Achilles problem, he received a standing ovation.
"He's had it for a few weeks, and it's an injury that just needs managing, but it would have been easy not to appear," the England manager said.
"I think it serves as a reminder to everyone that it's worthwhile to go through those things when you then have probably one of the best nights of your life."He's such a beloved teammate who is so humble, works really hard, and is, of course, talented that it makes me happy to see the smile on his face.
He has been finishing that way all week, so it was an exceptional effort.
When questioned about Saka's proximity to the elite level, Southgate responded, "Yeah, I think he's there."What impressed us when he first joined the Arsenal squad was that he was giving a really strong performance in a team that was struggling.
"Then, when the squad was functioning well, he was still an important player and giving excellent work
.
So, given our constant exposure to this atmosphere, it speaks a lot about his thinking and pressure-handling skills. He is a pleasure to deal with.
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