Nocturnal 
Bukayo Saka says England’s players are still carrying a “scar” from their heartbreaking World Cup semi-final exit to Argentina this summer, telling the BBC that the pain of the near-miss has not fully healed.
England were on course to reach their first men’s World Cup final since 1966 before Argentina struck twice late on to win 2-1. It was a gut punch for Thomas Tuchel’s side, who had looked genuinely capable of going all the way.
The Three Lions did bounce back to beat France 6-4 in a thrilling bronze medal match, securing England’s best World Cup finish in six decades. But as Saka made clear, the disappointment of falling agonisingly short of the final hasn’t simply disappeared.
‘A scar is a scar’
“Obviously, there is still a scar on us when you believed and everyone was so united and so confident we could do it,” Saka said. “You try to move on as soon as possible, but you know a scar is a scar, it decides to heal when it heals itself.”
The Arsenal winger stressed the squad are now focused firmly on what comes next. “We are trying to draw a line under [the World Cup] now and focus on the new international season that we have coming up,” he added, pointing to four “massive, difficult” Nations League group games on the horizon.
England get an early taste of what might have been when they host world champions Spain at Wembley, the first of those four fixtures. It’s a fixture that will inevitably draw comparisons to the level England reached over the summer.
Bellingham crowned player of the year again
The scar comments came in the same week Jude Bellingham was named England men’s Player of the Year for the second season running, as first reported by the BBC and ESPN. The award, decided by a fan vote rather than a panel, recognised a World Cup campaign in which the Real Madrid midfielder scored seven goals, breaking the record for the most goals scored at a single tournament by an Englishman, a mark previously held by Gary Lineker.
Bellingham’s tournament included a brace against Mexico in the last 16 and another double against Norway in the quarter-finals, before England’s run ended against Argentina.
“It feels great,” Bellingham said of the award. “Obviously, a huge honour to be recognised by the fans again… it’s obviously a beautiful little addition to the great summer we had.”
Tuchel praised his midfielder’s influence at the tournament, saying: “I think he was one of the players of the tournament, not only for us but for the whole tournament. He lived up to his full potential; you could just see what a competitor and what a machine he is.”
What’s next for England
Elsewhere, Saka gave a glowing verdict on Arsenal team-mate Max Dowman, 16, saying it’s only a matter of time before he earns a senior England call-up. “His talent is insane,” Saka said. “It’s up to him how far he is going to go in football.”
England Under-21 boss Lee Carsley agreed Dowman has “amazing talent” but believes he’s best served staying with the under-19s for now, saying he wants to give the teenager time to “consolidate where he is in his career” before stepping up.
For now, all eyes are on the Nations League, with England determined to show the World Cup heartbreak has sharpened rather than dulled their edge.
