Bukayo Saka is expected to miss out on England’s last-16 game against Germany, despite his Man of the Match performance in their previous game.

Jadon Sancho E replaces Bukayo Saka E at the Czech Republic v England UEFA EURO, EM, Europameisterschaft,Fussball 2020 Group D match at Wembley Stadium, London, UK, on June 22, 2020.
Jadon Sancho E replaces Bukayo Saka E at the Czech Republic v England UEFA EURO, EM, Europameisterschaft,Fussball 2020 Group D match at Wembley Stadium, London, UK, on June 22, 2020.

The Daily Mail report that Bukayo Saka is expected to miss out on Gareth Southgate’s starting lineup to face Germany on Tuesday, despite his starring role in England’s 1-0 win over the Czech Republic to set up this fixture.

After Phil Foden underperformed against Croatia and Scotland, he was dropped from the squad against the Czech Republic, giving Saka a chance. But Southgate insists that was simply to avoid him picking up a yellow-card suspension in the final group game.

Rather than a sign of disapproval, Foden’s absence was actually a sign that Southgate plans to include him in the key matches, and a knockout game against Germany is certainly one of those.

Foden and Mason Mount are both expected to start the Germany match, meaning Jack Grealish could also be set to miss out.

In Saka’s case, the decision is a bit bizarre given how well he played in his start.

Following his Man of the Match award against Austria in his final pre-tournament friendly, he repeated the trick by winning the award again in his first senior international tournament appearance.

Arguably, Saka did more in one Euro 2020 game than Foden managed in two. But Southgate has his favourites and he’ll have to hope they don’t let him down.