Saka insisted he was fully fit after the World Cup, but Tuchel’s explanation for overlooking him has only intensified the debate.
When Bukayo Saka didn’t start England’s semi-final against Argentina, most assumed it was due to his fitness and the Achilles issue that had dogged him for months.
But Thomas Tuchel has now revealed he simply picked Morgan Rogers over Saka because he had a “feeling”.
Nobody could understand why Saka did not get a single minute against Argentina, with the Arsenal man admitting after he scored a hat-trick against France in the third-place play-off that he was fit and had wanted to play more minutes.
“Of course, I would love to have played more,” Saka told the BBC after the game. “But of course, it’s not the time to talk about that now.
“I try to do my talking on the pitch. It’s done now. Move on.”
When asked if he was fit, he replied: “Yeah. I’m fit. I’m fit.”
But when Tuchel was asked about Saka, his answer was more than a little surprising.
“He was excellent,” Tuchel said after the 6-4 win over France. “Bukayo is a key player for me.
“He was ready to go in the World Cup. I felt still the responsibility as a coach, and with the history given where he came from to take it slow with Bukayo.
“He started quite some matches (4 of 8), it was a tough decision for me to leave him out of the semi-final.
“I had a feeling after the Norway match that Morgan Rogers had something special to give to us with his physicality and his body in the match against Argentina.
“We had him [Saka] warm up several times against Argentina, we were ready to change but the game became so crazy that in the end we opted for a different option.
“But nothing has changed during this World Cup for me. Bukayo is a fantastic team-mate, a fantastic football player, a key player for us. That will not change. He showed it again today. I’m happy for him and happy for us. He’s excellent.”
So, he left out one of the best players in the world, a footballer who has consistently performed for club and country for years, because he had a “feeling” that Rogers, who was being booed by Aston Villa’s fans just 10 months ago because he could not pass the ball, would do something special.
Rogers finished the semi-final with an assist yet, despite that, was still only rated at 6.8 with an xG of 0.05 and an xGA of 0.37 and just 12 passes attempted. The ‘physicality’ that Tuchel highlighted saw him win just three of his eight ground duels and none in the air.
By the end of the tournament, Saka had played 356 minutes, scored three goals and provided three assists.
Rogers, meanwhile, played 337 minutes and registered two assists.
Perhaps the feeling Tuchel should have had was that only a moron would pick Rogers over a fully fit Saka.
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