Bukayo Saka's Fitness: Key to England's World Cup Success

Bukayo Saka knows what it feels like when a club and a city catch fire around him.

He was at the heart of the delirium in north London when the Premier League trophy finally came back to Arsenal’s corner of the capital after 22 long years. He then carried that form onto the biggest stage of all, starting in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain, only to walk away with the hollow ache of a penalty shootout defeat.

For Mikel Arteta, there is no debate: a fully fit Saka is non-negotiable. The problem is the “fully fit” part.

England’s trump card… if he can stand up

The winger has been dogged by physical issues, and the latest concern has followed him into major tournament duty with England. A long-standing Achilles problem refuses to disappear, and it has already shaped Thomas Tuchel’s early decisions at this World Cup.

Saka began the campaign watching from the bench as England opened against Croatia, with club team-mate Noni Madueke preferred on the right flank. While the rest of the squad have ramped up preparations for Tuesday’s meeting with Ghana, Saka has not yet taken a full part in training.

He is working, but alone. Indoors. Away from the rhythm and intensity of the main group.

That is why, for John Barnes, the debate around Saka is not about talent or form. It is about whether his body can cope.

Barnes: “It’s his fitness”

Speaking to GOAL in association with viagogo’s ‘World Cuts’ campaign, the former England winger cut straight to the point when asked if Saka remains a go-to option for his country’s bid for global glory.

“It's his fitness. I mean, his form has been great for Arsenal, but it's his fitness,” Barnes said.

“Madueke is fit, so therefore he may be ahead of him at that particular moment in time. So, obviously, Thomas Tuchel will know how fit he is, how much he can influence games. We know the quality he actually has, so I think it's really just down to his fitness.

“And I don't know how fit he is, how many games he's had, whether Madueke is ahead of him. From a form perspective or a quality perspective, we can see what he can do. So I think his fitness is the biggest issue as to whether he starts for England or not.”

Last season underlined the problem. Saka’s stop-start campaign left him with 11 goals in all competitions, only seven of them in the Premier League. For a 24-year-old of his calibre, those numbers invite scrutiny.

Barnes, though, brushed away the obsession with statistics.

Goals secondary to glory

“His goal output doesn't have to be great if they win the league. And if England wins the World Cup, he doesn't score one goal, it's not important. What's important is him being part of a team that can win,” Barnes insisted.

“Once again, I don't think Thomas Tuchel is looking at individual numbers because if he scores more and Marcus Rashford scores more, you know what that means? Harry Kane will score less.

“So it's about the way you play to create for other people to score. I don't think he'll worry about his goal-scoring form, because it's not about the individual and what he does. If he can be part of a team and help that team to win, then I'm sure his lack of goals isn't going to be an issue.

“It's to do with how the team performs, to create chances for maybe Jude Bellingham and for Harry Kane to score, for them to work hard as a team, to be creative, and yes, they may score the odd goal. So he's looking at the way the team plays, rather than how any individual performs, Thomas Tuchel, which is the right thing to do.”

The message is clear: a fit Saka is a facilitator, not a flat-track bully chasing numbers. England’s structure, not his personal tally, will decide how far they go.

Tuchel treads carefully

Tuchel has already promised to treat Saka with care. England expect to be in North America for the long haul, and the head coach has no intention of gambling with one of his most gifted attackers in the opening week.

Against Croatia, he turned to Saka from the bench. The Arsenal man responded sharply, playing a leading role in Marcus Rashford’s goal that completed a 4-2 win and underlined what he brings even at something less than full throttle.

“Bukayo is ready and will get more and more ready. I think once we go to the last game of this group he will be ready,” Tuchel said afterwards.

That final Group L fixture comes against Panama on Saturday. Whether Saka is unleashed from the start by then is another matter entirely.

Over the weekend, he was the only England player not involved in group training as Tuchel’s squad worked outside on the grass to fine-tune their plans for Ghana. While they pressed, passed and sprinted, Saka followed an individual programme indoors, his Achilles the silent, stubborn opponent he still has to beat.

England know exactly what he can do when the shackles are off. The question hanging over this World Cup is brutally simple: will his body let him show it when it matters most?