Saka declares himself 'ready to go' for England's World Cup quarter-final against Norway

Bukayo Saka has declared himself fit and ready to start England’s World Cup quarter-final against Norway this weekend, putting to rest concerns over the Achilles problem that has restricted his involvement throughout the tournament.

The Arsenal winger arrived in the United States still feeling the effects of an injury sustained in March, which led to carefully managed game time and no full 90-minute appearances in the group stage. He started against Panama and Mexico but was used from the bench in other fixtures.

“Of course, I would have loved to come to this tournament 100 per cent, but that wasn’t the case and everyone’s realised that,” Saka said. “They’ve managed me in the best way possible. But right now, I’m feeling great and I’m ready to go.”

The 24-year-old described his World Cup experience so far as “unique”, but insisted his mentality has remained consistent regardless of his role in each match. “Whether I come on or I start, I just try and do what the game needs, whether it needs a goal, whether it needs the team to defend, whatever it needs. It’s about winning. That’s my mindset.”

Saka played a pivotal role in England’s dramatic 3-2 victory over Mexico, setting up Jude Bellingham’s opening goal before being substituted as the ten-man side held on for the win. He acknowledged the need to move past that emotional result ahead of the quarter-final.

“We discussed that we need to put the drama and the emotions of the Mexico game behind us now,” he said. “We soaked in all the praise and everything that came, but now we need to focus on Norway, which is going to be another tough challenge, a different challenge. We’re fully focused and I’m positive that we’ll win.”

Saka appears to have moved ahead of Noni Madueke in Thomas Tuchel’s attacking options following his performance against Mexico. Tuchel is otherwise expected to make minimal changes to his line-up, though he must alter his defence at least once with Jarell Quansah suspended after receiving a red card against Mexico.