Miami, July 19 (IANS) Bukayo Saka reflected on becoming the third England player to score three goals or more in two editions of the World Cup, after Gary Lineker and Harry Kane and stated that he feels proud to be part of the elite list.
Saka came away with the match ball after scoring a hat-trick, getting on the scoresheet with first in the 37th minute, doubling his tally on the stroke of half time and completing his treble from the spot late in the second period.
In doing so, he became the second England player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup knockout stage match after Sir Geoff Hurst in the 1966 final. The Arsenal dynamo became just the fourth Englishman to score a hat-trick at the global finals, after Geoff Hurst in 1966, Lineker 20 years later and then Kane at Russia 2018.
“That was fantastic. It was enjoyable and an amazing achievement of course. I’ve just been told there’s only four players for England that scored World Cup hat-tricks, and you know who those players are as well. That is an elite list to be part of. It makes me very proud,” Saka said.
Head coach Thomas Tuchel also highlighted Saka’s performance of Bukayo Saka, who notched a hat-trick. “He did everything right,” said Tuchel. “I just had a feeling in the semi-final for Morgan Rogers that he would be involved in something special. That was it. The games demand so much and we are forced into changes because of cramps and flow of the game. Bukayo showed he is a key player – that was never in doubt. I wasn’t even aware he had a hat-trick – I lost the overview of the goalscorers, but it is well deserved.”
The result in Miami brought an end to England’s journey at this summer’s tournament, reaching the last four before going on to secure third place and there is plenty to be proud of, as Saka highlighted.
“We built across the tournament, we had some amazing results,” said Saka. We fell short against Argentina and it hurts a lot for all of us and I’m sure it’s the same for the fans back home. We have to hold our heads high and move on to the next one. It’s how you react and use it as fuel. Today we finished strongly. That’s all we could really do and we did it.”
–IANS
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