Bukayo Saka's World Cup Journey: Fitness and Team Dynamics

Bukayo Saka knows what it feels like when a stadium explodes.

He was at the heart of it in north London as Arsenal finally dragged the Premier League trophy back to their side of the capital for the first time in 22 years. He felt it again under the brightest lights of all, starting the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain before the night twisted into penalty shootout heartbreak.

When he is fit, he is non-negotiable for Mikel Arteta. That much is clear. The problem now is that word in the middle.

England’s jewel, England’s concern

Saka has arrived at this World Cup carrying more than expectation. A long-standing Achilles issue has followed him into England duty and refused to loosen its grip. It has become a theme of his season: bursts of brilliance punctured by spells of treatment tables and tailored sessions.

So when England opened their campaign against Croatia, Saka’s seat was not on the right wing but on the bench. Noni Madueke, his Arsenal team-mate, took the starting role on that flank. On the training pitch, the picture has been similar: Saka has yet to complete a full session in the build-up to Tuesday’s meeting with Ghana.

John Barnes, who knows the demands of the position as well as anyone, sees the situation in simple terms.

“It’s his fitness,” he told GOAL, speaking in association with viagogo and their ‘World Cuts’ campaign. “I mean, his form has been great for Arsenal, but it’s his fitness.

“Madueke is fit, so therefore he may be ahead of him at that particular moment in time. So, obviously, Thomas Tuchel will know how fit he is, how much he can influence games. We know the quality he actually has, so I think it’s really just down to his fitness.”

Barnes did not dress it up. “I don’t know how fit he is, how many games he’s had, whether Madueke is ahead of him. From a form perspective or a quality perspective, we can see what he can do. So I think his fitness is the biggest issue as to whether he starts for England or not.”

Goals, glory and what really matters

Saka’s season numbers tell their own story of interruption. Eleven goals in all competitions, only seven of them in the Premier League, from a player who once threatened to redefine output from the flank.

Does that need to change? Barnes pushed back at the obsession with raw totals.

“His goal output doesn’t have to be great if they win the league,” he said. “And if England wins the World Cup, he doesn’t score one goal, it’s not important. What’s important is him being part of a team that can win.”

Then came the wider point – and the name that always sits at the centre of England’s attacking equation.

“Once again, I don’t think Thomas Tuchel is looking at individual numbers because if he scores more and Marcus Rashford scores more, you know what that means? Harry Kane will score less.

“So it’s about the way you play to create for other people to score. I don’t think he’ll worry about his goal-scoring form, because it’s not about the individual and what he does. If he can be part of a team and help that team to win, then I’m sure his lack of goals isn’t going to be an issue.”

Barnes pointed towards the cast around Saka – Jude Bellingham, Kane, Rashford – and the structure that must serve them.

“It’s to do with how the team performs, to create chances for maybe Jude Bellingham and for Harry Kane to score, for them to work hard as a team, to be creative, and yes, they may score the odd goal. So he’s looking at the way the team plays, rather than how any individual performs, Thomas Tuchel, which is the right thing to do.”

Tuchel’s delicate balancing act

Tuchel has already signalled that he will not gamble recklessly on Saka’s body. England want to be in North America for the long haul; burning out one of their most gifted attackers in the group stage would be a reckless play.

Against Croatia, the manager eased him in. Saka came off the bench, found his rhythm quickly and played a key role in the move that ended with Marcus Rashford putting the gloss on a 4-2 win. It was a glimpse of what he offers when the legs respond and the mind sharpens.

“Bukayo is ready and will get more and more ready,” Tuchel said afterwards. “I think once we go to the last game of this group he will be ready.”

That last group game, against Panama on Saturday, now sits like a quiet target on the horizon. The question is whether Saka’s body will meet it.

For now, the signs are mixed. Over the weekend he was the only England player absent from the main group session as Tuchel’s squad prepared for Ghana. While team-mates stretched out on the grass, Saka stayed indoors, following an individual programme designed to coax that troublesome Achilles through another tournament.

England know exactly what he brings when he is free to sprint, twist and combine. Arsenal have built a title-winning side around those qualities. The national team would love to do the same on the world stage.

But tournaments are ruthless. Madueke is fit. Others are sharp. The games keep coming.

So the story of England’s World Cup might yet hinge on something brutally simple: can one of their brightest talents win his race against his own body in time?