Bukayo Saka was involved in England’s opening goal on Sunday, after it was suggested earlier in the week that he’s part of the team’s five-player leadership group.
Speaking to the media last week, England captain Harry Kane suggested that both Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are part of the team’s leadership group right now.
“We have some newer leaders coming through, rather than some of the guys like Walks (Kyle Walker) and Harry Maguire, who were a big part of the leadership group in the past,” Kane began.
“We’ve got new ones like Marc (Guehi) and Jude (Bellingham) and Bukayo (Saka), Dec (Rice) obviously.”
Having scored the opener against Serbia earlier in the week, Saka didn’t initially have to take on much responsibility on Sunday as England faced Albania, given he was named on the bench.
But coming on in the 62nd minute with the scores still level at 0-0, Saka ended up helping to break the deadlock once again.
It was the Arsenal winger’s corner that reached Kane via a deflection, with the striker poking home for 1-0. Kane then doubled the lead eight minutes later, and the match finished 2-0.
Rice and Eberechi Eze had started the match, and the good news was that they both came off around the hour mark with no sign of any injury concerns.
The 2-0 result didn’t mean much to England, with the team already having qualified for the World Cup in October. But it’s always good to keep winning matches.