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Both Roy Keane and Thomas Tuchel were full of praise for Arsenal star Bukayo Saka after his goal in England's 3-0 victory over Wales at Wembley Stadium.
Saka and his teammates enjoyed a comfortable evening in the capital with the game effectively wrapped up inside 20 minutes. By the eleventh minute, Aston Villa duo Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins had put the hosts in full control.
Rogers' precise finish opened the scoring before Watkins' poacher's finish made it 2-0. However, the pick of the goals came on 20 minutes as Saka produced one of his trademark cuts inside to curl the ball past Welsh and Leeds United goalkeeper Karl Darlow.
It was a special strike from the Gunner and he received praise from former Manchester United captain Roy Keane for his finish. Speaking at half-time, Keane told ITV Sport: "We’ve seen him doing this many times. Fantastic.
"Poor from Wales, giving Saka time like this. The quality gets his [the defender's] foot wrong with the pace.
"As soon as it left his foot, you know, it’s going to the back of the net. We see brilliant players like Saka coming in, you’ve got to get somebody across.
"We see, he does this week in week out. We know he’s shooting or crossing it.
"So we can make a lot of excuses for the Welsh players who look like they’re shell-shocked." Saka continued to be praised at full-time by his international head coach Tuchel.
The German explained that Saka has filled in expertly after his club teammate Noni Madueke picked up a knee injury last month. "That’s what we want," Tuchel explained when praising Saka's display.
"Noni is unfortunately injured. Noni was excellent in the last camp, he was electric.
"We were very, very sad that he’s now injured, but Saka stepped up. He had to step up also.
"Bukayo had a good performance like everyone else and showed what he’s capable of. I still feel there is a step to go for Bukayo to regain his rhythm, naturally after one or two injuries now, to regain his rhythm and his stamina.
"Then, he is a very important player for us and he will fight for his place because that’s what he does. He’s played for many, many years for Arsenal at the highest level and this is what we demand of him for England."
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