‘Bukayo Saka is not on his own’: Gareth Southgate offers full support to England youngster after penalty miss

England manager Gareth Southgate insisted Buykayo Saka is “not on his own” after the teenager’s saved penalty handed Italy the Euro 2020 trophy.

Saka was for many a surprise inclusion in the squad but, after coming in for Phil Foden after two games, established himself as one of the team’s key players. 

He did not start the final but came on in the second half and put in another fine performance as the game went to extra time and then penalties.

But after taking the lead in the shootout, missed penalties from Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho meant Saka had to score the fifth penalty to stop Italy winning, but he saw his spot kick saved.

“He’s not on his own,” Southgate said afterwards. “He’s such a super boy who’s so popular with the whole group, he’s had an incredible tournament, he’s been an absolute star and will continue to be a star. 

“In the final he performed exceptionally well when he came on. We’ve got to be there to support him. I’m sure he’ll get a lot of love for everything he’s done in the tournament, the way he’s established himself and carried himself.”

The England manager insisted he was to blame – not his players – for the heart-breaking penalty shootout defeat, explaining that he decided who would take them and in what order. Southgate has experienced the harsh aftermath of missing the decisive penalty in a major tournament, still reliving 25 years later his error that knocked England out of the Euro 96 semi-finals. 

And Southgate has called for the nation to rally around his players who have brought such light to the country in these dark pandemic times.

“What they have to know is none of them are on their own, we win and lose as a team,” Southgate said. “And the penalty takers are my call. We worked on them in training, that’s my decision.”

Rashford and Sancho were introduced in the final few minutes of extra time especially for the shootout in a move that eventually backfired. “We tried to get those players onto the pitch, we already had to take some [penalty takers] off during in the game,” he said. “It’s going to be heart-breaking for the boys but they’re not to blame for that.”

The Duke of Cambridge visited the players in what Southgate said was a subdued dressing room afterwards and praised them for their efforts. 

“The players at the moment are really quiet. The Duke has been down to see them in dressing rooms and thanked them for what they’ve done and been fulsome in his praise. I just said to them we could have no recrimination, we win and lose together, nobody is on their own.”

Southgate added: “In terms of the players they’ve given everything they could have, not only tonight but the whole tournament. They should hold their heads high. They’ve pulled together, given the country some incredible evenings. Not being able to give the country the trophy we wanted to is difficult to put into context. That’s difficult to put into words. But the players have given absolutely everything.”