Saka spoke about the painful experience at the World Cup and his trust in Tuchel's decisions

Arsenal and England winger Bukayo Saka has spoken openly about his emotions for the first time over head coach Thomas Tuchel's decision to keep him on the bench for the World Cup match against Argentina. Saka had been nursing an Achilles injury throughout the North American tournament and was an unused substitute against Argentina as Tuchel relied on defensive substitutions to maintain the lead, but England still lost 2-1. Just three days later, Saka demonstrated his form, starting in the third-place match against France in Miami. England ran out emphatic 6-4 winners, with the winger scoring a hat-trick, prompting media to question the appropriateness of his absence from the previous match. In an interview with talkSPORT, the football player admitted that the situation was not easy: "There was a lot of talk and speculation about decisions in the Argentina game, but it was really difficult for me not to go on the pitch. But you have to trust the manager's decisions completely. He gives his tasks, his tactics and you go out and do your job. We are here in a new camp, a new season and we try not to dwell on it anymore." On Tuesday, Thomas Tuchel held a team meeting to finalize the results of the performance at the World Cup and switch the players' attention to preparations for the home Euro-2028. Speaking to broadcaster Radio 5 Live, Saka said the disappointment was still there but the players were ready to move on. "Obviously, we still have a scar. Everyone was so united and confident that we could do it. You try to move on as quickly as possible, but the scar will only heal when the time comes. We are trying to take the risk now. We have four difficult and important matches in the group stage to qualify for the Nations League and we are fully focused on that," concluded the footballer. The starting game of the autumn cycle will be held by Tuchel's wards on September 26 at 9:45 p.m. at home against the Spanish national team. Three days from now, on September 29 at 21:45, the Three Lions will play away against the Czech Republic. The October block of matches will begin on October 3 with an away match against Croatia (kick-off at 19:00) and will end on October 6 with a home return match against the Czech Republic, kick-off at 21:45.