Arsenal star Bukayo Saka is expected to ‘get the best of’ Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella in the Euro 2024 final between England and Spain.
After a poor start to the Euros, Saka is regaining his form and had a fantastic performance in England’s quarter-final triumph against Switzerland, scoring the 80th-minute equalizer and then converting a penalty in the shootout.
The same can be said about England, who deceived itself during the group stage before relying on a last-minute overhead kick from Jude Bellingham to escape loss to Slovakia.
Although their performance against the Dutch was by far the greatest since they arrived in Germany last month, the Three Lions also had to come from behind against Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Saka, who is expected to start against Chelsea defender Cucurella after another successful season for Premier League runners-up Arsenal, might provide some happiness for England on the right side.
Cucurella has been a surprise star of Euro 2024 after largely struggling to justify his £62m price-tag since joining Chelsea from Brighton in 2022, and ex-Premier League manager Harry Redknapp expects him to struggle to deal with Saka.
‘Phil Foden has been different class since Gareth Southgate moved him inside, and Spain have a huge issue in how they cope with him,’ Redknapp told The Sun.
‘And what about Bukayo Saka? If he’s in the same form as the last two games, would you fancy Marc Cucurella to get the better of him? I certainly wouldn’t.’
Redknapp also backed Harry Kane to retain his place in the England team and outclass Spain striker Alvaro Morata.
‘Then there’s captain Harry,’ he added. ‘Fair enough, I accept he’s not in the form of his life right now, maybe he isn’t 100 per cent.
‘But he’s still got three goals, there’s every likelihood he will finish the Euros as top scorer, and here’s a question.
‘If there’s a half chance in the box in Berlin, who would you fancy to stick it away, Harry or Alvaro Morata?
‘It’s an absolute no-brainer. Morata gets through a ton of work but let’s make no bones about it, he was something of a disaster when he played at Chelsea.
‘In terms of the world’s great strikers, the genuine goalscoring centre-forwards, if you were picking the best around, he would be lucky to make the top ten. Harry, for me, would be No 1.
It’s unbelievable that some people thought he ought to be benched for the semifinal! Frankly, Gareth won’t want to alter anything for the championship game either.