Saka Hat-Trick Fuels Debate Over Tuchel's Semi-Final Snub
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- Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick in England's 6-4 third-place play-off win over France in Miami on Saturday, three days after being left on the bench for the entire 2-1 semi-final loss to Argentina.
- Saka became the fourth England player to score a World Cup hat-trick — joining Geoff Hurst, Gary Lineker and Harry Kane — and only the second to do so in the knockout stages after Hurst's 1966 final treble.
- Thomas Tuchel defended his semi-final selection, saying he chose Morgan Rogers for his 'physicality and body' against Argentina and that Saka was managed carefully due to a persistent Achilles problem that limited him to 3 starts in 8 matches.
- Tuchel insisted Saka remains 'a key player' and the omission was fitness management rather than loss of faith, even though Saka warmed up during the closing stages against Argentina without entering the contest.
- Saka finished the tournament with 3 goals and 3 assists from just 357 minutes on the pitch — averaging a goal involvement every 59.5 minutes — and said he would 'rather do his talking on the pitch' than complain about minutes.
- England's third-place finish matched their best World Cup showing since 1966, though Rogers had set up Anthony Gordon's opener against Argentina before Enzo Fernandez (85th minute) and Lautaro Martinez (stoppage time) overturned a 1-0 lead.
Why it matters: Saka averaged a goal involvement every 59.5 minutes across just 357 minutes of tournament play, producing three goals and three assists while starting only three of eight matches. With Argentina scoring twice late to overturn England's lead after Tuchel shifted to a more defensive shape, his fitness-based justification for benching his most efficient attacker now carries scrutiny into the Euro 2028 cycle.
