Bukayo Saka is second only to Harry Kane as England’s most important player

If England’s first game in this international break was about Harry Kane, their captain and talisman, their second was all about Bukayo Saka, their next best and most important player.

We are still in the early phase of Saka’s England career, less than three years after his debut, less than two since he became a regular. But it feels increasingly obvious that he is now the second name on Gareth Southgate’s teamsheet, uniquely able to bring incision, flexibility and speed to this side.

That much was clear here against Ukraine at Wembley. In a sense, this was Kane’s day, presented with a golden boot beforehand for setting a new England goalscoring record in Naples on Thursday, given a hero’s reception on his return home. But it was Saka who was the star of the show. Electric in everything he did, always too fast, too skilful, too precise for Ukraine, he made the first goal and scored the wonderful second.

Saka embodied everything Southgate would want from him in the role he is making his own, on the right of the front three. The job of a modern inside-forward is complex: asked most of the time to provide width (over half of England’s attacks came down Saka’s side in the first half), but at crucial moments to drive inside and attack the goal, with defensive responsibilities to both press and track back.

This is precisely what Saka did, with his average position high and wide, most of his touches by the touchline, even though his contributions for both goals came from him driving inside.

Bukayo Saka’s touch map against Ukraine (attacking left to right) shows how high he operated, and his instinct for cutting inside from the flank.

It is in this role that Saka has been arguably the best player in the Premier League this season, integral to Arsenal’s charge to the top of the table, the embodiment of everything that makes them such an exciting team: the speed, the courage, the sense of fearless enjoyment. Saka has been the first player to reach double figures for both goals and assists in the league this season, and regardless of how the title race ends up, it would be no surprise to see him collecting the individual prizes in May.

So in one sense, it should be no surprise to see Saka playing this well. Anyone who has watched him recently knows what a brilliant player he is. On the other hand, how many examples have there been over the years of very gifted young English players who have shone for their clubs but struggled to convert their form into delivering for the national team? It is to the credit of Southgate’s England camp, his inclusive ethos, that it no longer looks like so much of a difficult or complex transition from one to the other.

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Saka has never looked inhibited or overawed during his England career. But he has rarely been quite as satisfyingly effective and decisive as he was against Ukraine. The first goal was excellent: Kane dropped deep and played the ball wide to Saka, who cut inside, faced no opposition from Mykhailo Mudryk, and clipped a delicious left-footed cross that curled around the Ukraine defence and back into the path of Kane, who pushed past Oleksandr Karavaev to score.

That was special but the goal Saka scored himself three minutes later was a work of art. Masterfully rolling Mykola Matviyenko just outside the Ukraine box, Saka opened up his body and curled the ball with his left boot into the far top corner. It was the goal that every inverted winger dreams of scoring, a perfect piece of vision and confident execution.

Saka might even have had a second after the interval, wasting a free-kick move after he had been brought down by Ruslan Malinovskyi. But even without that this was one of Saka’s best games for his country.

It was not very long ago that Saka was just one of a number of talented players competing for this spot in the England team. Remember back to Euro 2020, less than two years ago. Phil Foden started the first two group games in that role, Jadon Sancho started against Ukraine in Rome, and Mason Mount in the final. And yet it was Saka who made the biggest impression of all.

It was only six months ago in Milan when Saka played left wing-back in a 3-5-2 system, a role that made more sense for him on paper than it did in reality. But Southgate did not persist with that experiment, returning Saka to the right of the front three in Qatar, where he started every game except for Wales.

Saka scored twice against Iran — one of them a brilliant hit — and another against Senegal. Even against France in the quarter-final, he looked desperate to take the game to the opposition, even if he struggled with the end product.

The ultimate testimony to Saka’s success is that the debate about his role on the right of the three now feels over. Only injury will stop him from starting there against North Macedonia and Malta in three months’ time. And as Saka secures that spot, the competition on the other side of the front three has never been fiercer. What used to be unambiguously Raheem Sterling’s place was filled by James Maddison here. In Naples, it was Jack Grealish. In Qatar, it was also taken by Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford.

Five players, then, pushing for one starting spot, with Euro 2024 in Germany just over one year away. Not a bad position for Southgate and England to be in. Especially knowing that on the opposite side, the debate has been stopped.

(Top photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)