Tyreece John-Jules racked up a hat-trick of assists and Bukayo Saka scored in a 5-0 win for the England u19s against Macedonia on Saturday.
Given the England u19s have three matches to play over the international break, it was no real surprise to see Tyreece John-Jules rested in their opening game against Luxembourg before coming into the starting lineup against Macedonia.
The striker made his presence felt all the same, despite failing to find the net himself. He provided a hat-trick of assists for England, with the third to set up his Arsenal teammate Bukayo Saka, who came off the bench late on.
The first came from John-Jules usual habit of closing down defenders, forcing them into mistakes and shielding the ball well, though Macedonia will still be disappointed the striker’s pass trickled through to James Garner.
Not sure if John-Jules will officially get an assist here, but he deserves one after his hard work closing down defenders leads to a goal again. pic.twitter.com/S0sAoCVeI2
— Dan Critchlow (@afcDW) November 16, 2019
For the second assist, John-Jules took a shot himself, before the ball bounced back to him. Instead of trying another effort, he laid it off to Garner to score again from a very similar position to the first.
John-Jules will definitely get an assist for this one, with a lay-off after his shot was blocked. Saka is on too now, after coming off the bench. pic.twitter.com/gKMicPTVlQ
— Dan Critchlow (@afcDW) November 16, 2019
Finally, it was time for the two Arsenal boys on the pitch to combine. John-Jules poked the ball through a gap between three defenders for Saka to run onto and finish with his weaker right foot.
Bukayo Saka scores for the England u19s. I only just caught the goal so that’s why the start of the replay is cut a bit short. #AFC pic.twitter.com/IbNrnC7j3t
— Dan Critchlow (@afcDW) November 16, 2019
Impressive work from the duo, with Saka also providing an assist in the u19s’ first game of the break. They have one more fixture against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday.
