‘Not here to cause drama’ – Bukayo Saka reveals true feelings over being axed from England’s starting XI vs Argentina

BUKAYO SAKA held his tongue over being left out against Argentina because he did not want to “cause any drama”. The Arsenal star did not play a minute of the semi-final defeat to the South Americans, despite insisting he was fit to play. Bukayo Saka has claimed he bit his tongue after being dropped for England vs Argentina Credit: Getty Saka said he had to respect Thomas Tuchel’s ‘decision and didn’t want to cause drama’ Credit: AP Saka then scored a hat-trick against France in the madcap third-place play-off, which England won 6-4. Asked why the difference in performance between the two games, Saka replied: “It’s a completely different game. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! “When it was the semi-final, everything at stake, there’s so much pressure on that game, this game was much less. “And obviously we fielded a different line-up… so there were so many different factors as to the different performances. READ MORE ON THE WORLD CUP “In the end, the 11 that the manager picks, we have to deliver and the changes that were made, of course, were the changes. “There is not really much that I want to say right now because I’m not here to cause any drama, but it’s what it is, and you just have to move on.” England had hoped to go all the way in America but were forced to settle for bronze after beating the French. Assistant Anthony Barry said the players played against Les Bleus with “broken hearts” following the dramatic late loss to Argentina. Most read in Sport WORLD CUP 2026 FREE BETS AND SIGN UP OFFERS Saka put his disappointment behind him by netting a hat-trick in the crazy 6-4 win over France Credit: Getty Saka wants to use that pain as fuel at Euro 2028 in two years. He added: “I don’t think anything can lessen the pain that we felt from the other night. That one really hurt us, I’ll be honest. “When we go into the next major tournament, this will definitely be fuel for us. “It’s very tough to take, but we did show that we believed and I feel that we made the country believe as well that we could do it. So that belief hasn’t left us. “We’ll be back next tournament to try and get over the line.” Saka is now set to enjoy a well-deserved break from football before joining Arsenal’s pre-season preparations. The winger will soon be gearing up towards Arsenal’s title defence, but first he will expect to feature in the Community Shield against Man City on August 16. Comment now