Micah Richards believes 'England can rely on Saka' in EURO 2024 final against Spain
Jul 14, 2024
New Delhi [India], July 14 : Former Manchester City player Micah Richards said that England can rely on Arsenal midfielder Bukayo Saka in the final match of EURO 2024.
Spain will take on England in the final match of the EURO 2024 at the Olympiastadion Berlin on Sunday.
Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Micah said that Saka has shown resilience to make a comeback with the national team. The former footballer also praised Saka for his consistent performance.
"Yeah. And that is a shame. Saka has shown such resilience to come back from missing that penalty. We can all talk about Bellingham and his bicycle kick and he's the player with the most exciting potential on the squad. But in terms of consistent performance - getting the ball, giving an assist - Saka is the one we can rely on. If Saka misses a penalty on Sunday I'm not even going to look at social media. If a person of colour misses then I will delete all social media for a week because I can't stomach it. We should all be together," Micah was quoted by Goal.com as saying.
Spain confirmed their spot in the final in the tournament after beating France 2-1 in the first semi-final match. Meanwhile, England beat Netherlands 1-2 in the second semi-final match with the help of Ollie Watkins' late goal.
Gareth Southgate's men write their names in the history book as the Three Lions are set to play a final of a major tournament on foreign soil for the first time. The team also is now one step closer to ending their 58-year wait to win a major tournament.
England confirmed their spot in the final of the marquee tournament for the second consecutive time. Last time in EURO 2020, England faced Italy in the final game but failed to get hold of the trophy after a heartbreaking defeat on penalties.
Recapping the Three Lions' previous match against Netherlands, the game started with the Netherlands dominating the first ten minutes of the match. Xavi Simons gave an early lead to the Dutch after his stunning goal outside the English box. Simons picked the ball on the left side of the box and drove it towards the penalty box before unleashing a stunner.
Harry Kane delivered for England after he scored the equaliser in the 18th minute. Kane placed the ball towards the left side of the box, and even though the Dutch goalkeeper jumped on the right side, he had no chance to save the shot.
Ollie Watkins scored the winning goal in the dying moments of the match in the added minutes of the second half. Watkins turned well in the right side of the Dutch box after receiving the ball from Cole Palmer and placed a shot towards the goal from an acute angle, which was impossible for the Netherlands goalkeeper to save it.