Arsenal star Bukayo Saka has been tipped to ‘get the better of’ Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella in the Euro 2024 final between England and Spain.
After a slow start to the Euros, Saka is beginning to find his best form at the tournament and produced a superb performance in the quarter-final win over Switzerland, scoring England’s 80th-minute equaliser and then converting a penalty in the shootout.
The same can be said for England, who flattered to deceive during the group stage and then needed a last-minute overhead kick from Jude Bellingham to avoid defeat to Slovakia.
The Three Lions also had to come from behind against Switzerland and the Netherlands, though their performance against the Dutch was comfortably the best they have produced since arriving in Germany last month.
One possible avenue for joy for England will be down the right-flank, with Saka coming good following another productive season for Premier League runners-up Arsenal and set to line-up against Chelsea defender Cucurella.
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.
‘To think there were people who felt he should be dropped for the semi! To be honest Gareth won’t want to make any changes for the final, either.’
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