England are out of the World Cup after a collapse that will haunt this squad for years.
Despite leading 1-0 with five minutes of normal time to spare, the Three Lions conceded two late goals and lost to Argentina 2-1.
And after the final whistle, a photograph that summed up the evening perfectly emerged:
Bukayo Saka and Kobbie Mainoo, both still in their bibs. Neither had come on from the bench.
As England crumbled in the closing stages, two of their most technically gifted players watched it happen from the sidelines.
Discussing the game on Stick to Football, Gary Neville, Roy Keane and Ian Wright all questioned the decision not to bring Mainoo on.
“Kobbie Mainoo would be asking a question wouldn’t he?” Neville said. “You’d be asking a question if you were Kobbie Mainoo not coming on in midfield, because he can handle the ball a bit as well.”
Keane agreed. “You know what, maybe yeah, he might have just done a dribble as well and won you a free kick,” before Wright added: “But at no stage was he even thought of. It was all about defending and defending.”
Those comments were about Mainoo. But the same question applies to Saka, and perhaps even more pointedly.
Bukayo Saka could have surely helped England against Argentina
There is no doubting what a fit and firing Bukayo Saka could have offered in that situation. He wouldn’t have been on the bench to begin with.
His ability to receive the ball under pressure, drive at defenders, win fouls, create something from nothing when a team is desperately holding on.
What does Bukayo Saka need to do to be considered Arsenal’s greatest ever Premier League winger?
It was especially needed when England went behind in those final minutes, but the manager opted for Ivan Toney and Marcus Rashford instead.
Saka plays against a deep defence better than almost anyone in the country.
He will be gutted. Especially with it being a World Cup semi-final against Lionel Messi, a player he has never faced and now probably never will.
To not get off the bench in that moment is a deeply unfamiliar feeling for a player who until now was England’s key man across three consecutive tournaments.
The silver lining from an Arsenal perspective is that his body hasn’t been completely put through it compared to what Declan Rice has endured.
Hopefully, after a proper break, Saka comes back next season refreshed, refocused and ready to rediscover the form that makes him one of the best players in the world.
He is expected to have a limited pre-season, if any at all, with the Premier League title defence beginning in just five weeks’ time.
But Arsenal need him. The real Saka, and not the half-fit, limited one we saw all throughout last season.
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