Bukayo Saka not fit enough to start for England v Ghana, Thomas Tuchel hints, as final World Cup group game targeted for Arsenal winger

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Thomas Tuchel has suggested that Bukayo Saka will only be fit enough to start in England's final World Cup 2026 group-stage match, meaning he is again likely to be on the bench against Ghana.

Tuchel told England players they had 'nothing to fear' before sparkling second half against Croatia

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Saka lifted the second major trophy of his career this season, one of the first names on the team sheet as Arsenal ended their 22-year wait for the Premier League title.

He scored seven league goals, directly leading to four points, and was responsible for arguably the most important strike in the club's UEFA Champions League history - the semi-final winner against Atletico Madrid.

However, the No. 7 was not at his dynamic best, struggling with injury through the campaign. Indeed, he missed a month with a hamstring problem, two weeks with a hip issue and then a further month to nurse his Achilles.

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Though he did compete in the run-in, from late April through to the Champions League final, the winger was clearly not at full fitness.

Earlier this week, he admitted it was "the biggest gamble" to play while the lingering effects of the Achilles injury are still present.

Saka is now being carefully managed by Tuchel in England's World Cup adventure, with the German leaving him out of the starting XI in the 4-2 win over Croatia.

Arsenal team-mate Noni Madueke began the Dallas outing in his place, and contributed well down the right flank. Saka did eventually come on, and assisted fellow substitute Marcus Rashford's late finish.

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While England fans would have been hoping for a clean bill of health heading into matchday two - a meeting with Ghana on Tuesday evening - it appears Saka is still not fully firing.

Tuchel told a press conference on Friday: "Bukayo is ready and will get more and more ready. Once we get to the last game in the group, it is the moment.

"He was strong [Thursday] in training in small spaces. It's just a matter of if the game is open and up and down."

That matchday three fixture Tuchel has targeted for Saka's start is against Panama next Saturday.

The performance of Madueke on the right, plus Rashford on the left, who came on for first-choice Anthony Gordon, has given the England boss food for thought.

He continued: "All four of them, the wingers, the level they are competing at was the highest level, especially in the last week.

"We had some 10-against-10s in training and some finishing patterns and attacking patterns and defensive patterns.

"Everybody is on in such a respectful way, and we had some difficult decisions to make.

"But they know that we will need them and the time will come where they will start, and the time will come where they can finish and be decisive from the bench.

"It is now four more weeks. So in four weeks, you can swallow it and digest it and buy into it. We selected the group because we know they can do it."

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