Published 23 June 2021 2 min read
England Men's Senior Team
Night of my life
Saka sits down to reflect on another memorable night at Wembley
Bukayo Saka described the feeling of being named man of the match in England’s 1-0 win over Czech Republic at Wembley as one the ‘best moments of his life’.
The 19 year old was full of running as he made his tournament debut in England’s final group game on Tuesday night, earning this third man of the match award in only his fifth appearance.
Gareth Southgate’s side started brightly and it was Saka that instigated the move for Raheem Sterling’s winning goal as England collected their third consecutive clean sheet of the tournament.
“It was probably one of the best moments of my career and my life, to step out on the Wembley pitch,” Saka said, speaking on Wednesday’s instalment of Lions’ Den connected by EE.
“I used to drive past it every day on my way to training as a kid and England would be playing with the arches lit up.
“For me to now be in the stadium and playing and having my family with me was a very special moment.”
“The best thing about football is the emotions it gives people and for us on the pitch the emotions that we feel, even though Raheem scored, I was buzzing and I just wanted to run and celebrate.
“It’s the same around the country and it’s nice to see people so happy. When I saw people standing up and clapping for me I was so proud, I can’t really describe it but I wanted the walk to last forever.”
23 Jun 2021
Watch Saka on Lions' Den
Saka sits down to discuss the win over Czech Republic
Victory means that England will face the runners-up from Group F in the next round, which could still be one of either France, Portugal, Germany or Hungary.
But Saka is not worried about who we face in the next round as long as the outcome is victory - although he admitted it would be nice to face up to childhood hero Cristiano Ronaldo.
“I’ll definitely be watching the games tonight, not just because it affects us but because there are some big players in there and you can always learn from them,” said Saka.
“We’ll see who we are going to play after tonight but to be on the same pitch as Ronaldo would be crazy because he was one of the players that inspired me growing up.
“I just want to win though, it doesn’t matter who we play, it's just about winning.”
But Saka is not worried about who we face in the next round as long as the outcome is victory - although he admitted it would be nice to face up to childhood hero Cristiano Ronaldo.
“I’ll definitely be watching the games tonight, not just because it affects us but because there are some big players in there and you can always learn from them,” said Saka.
“We’ll see who we are going to play after tonight but to be on the same pitch as Ronaldo would be crazy because he was one of the players that inspired me growing up.
“I just want to win though, it doesn’t matter who we play, it's just about winning.”
CHECK OUT BUKAYO SAKA'S ENGLAND PROFILE