Saka Ready to Shine as England Faces Norway in Quarter-Final
Bukayo Saka leans back in his chair in Kansas City and smiles. The limp that shadowed him into this World Cup has gone. So has the doubt.
“I think across the tournament my minutes have been building and building,” the England winger said. “Of course I would have loved to have come to the tournament at 100% but that wasn't the case and everyone has realised that and has managed me in the best way possible, but right now I'm feeling great and ready to go.”
England will need that. Norway await in the quarter-final on Saturday night, a tie that looks familiar on paper yet feels loaded with jeopardy. Erling Haaland is in full roar, the underdogs are loose, and the favourites know it.
Saka cuts through the noise with the clarity that has become his trademark. His role has shifted from starter to impact player and back again, but his compass has not moved.
“Each game has been unique for me but my mindset doesn't really change much – I come on, whether I start or not, and I try and do what the game needs. It's about winning and that's my mindset.”
Mexico drama parked, Norway in view
England’s route here was anything but smooth. The win over Mexico dragged them to the edge before they punched their way through. For Saka, the value of that night lay as much in what it showed the outside world as what it did for the dressing room.
“For us, we believed and we believed from the start,” he said. “The belief was more for the people back home and them seeing us go through that adversity and see us come out on top was important for all of us.
“How players that haven't been playing came on and the players that have been produced some big moments again. Everyone had their contribution and it was just an amazing night for us as a camp.
“Our spirits are high and we need to take it into the next game.”
The danger, of course, is to live in that Mexico game for too long. England know it. Saka made it clear they have already drawn a line under the chaos.
“We discussed that we need to put the drama and the emotions of the Mexico game behind us now. We soaked in all of the praise and everything that came with it but now we need to focus on Norway which is going to be a tough challenge.
“We're fully focused and buzzing that we're winning.
“Norway are a very good team – they play with confidence and a directness and that's been working for them so far.”
Haaland’s Norway, England’s burden
On the other side of the bracket sits Haaland, smiling as he tries to shift the weight of expectation entirely onto England’s shoulders.
“Yes, definitely,” the Manchester City striker said when asked if all the pressure is on England. “I think there's some clear favourites out there, England's one of them.
“I think all of you should put every single [bit of] pressure on the English lads.
“Yeah, they [England fans] should be confident of progressing, definitely. It's England.”
He is not wrong about the history. England have reached at least the quarter-finals in the past three men's World Cups, yet the final has eluded them since 1966. Norway, by contrast, are living a dream they did not truly expect.
Norway had not appeared at a World Cup since 1998. Now they have reached the last eight for the first time, finishing second in Group I before taking out Ivory Coast and Brazil in the knockouts.
“I didn't expect it. To be honest, to be in the quarter-finals with Norway in the World Cup is quite surprising even for me,” Haaland admitted.
“Playing against Brazil was kind of crazy for us Norwegians and to win against Brazil and then go and play England in the quarter-finals in the World Cup in the USA is quite special.
“It's difficult to take everything in because you need to kind of just play the game like it's a training session.
“I think if you watch the scenes back in Norway, this is not normal for Norway to be, so it's super special.”
Special, and dangerous. A side with nothing to lose, armed with the most ruthless finisher in the tournament.
Inside knowledge, outside threat
If anyone in the England camp understands the scale of the Haaland problem, it is Nico O'Reilly. The Manchester City midfielder has seen the Norwegian at close quarters, in training and on matchdays, and his respect is obvious.
“Yeah, a lot of confidence,” O'Reilly said of the mood after Mexico. “We had confidence going into that game and we have got confidence going into this game. We believe in ourselves, trust our abilities and we go from there.”
Then came the inevitable question: what makes Haaland different?
“Erling is Erling. We all know what he is like. He can score goals, he is dangerous in the box and he is a real threat.”
The plan is not to obsess over him, but nobody at City or with England underestimates the task.
“Keeping Erling quiet gives us a real chance to win the game,” O’Reilly said. “Given all the threat he can cause, unbelievable striker, world-class. He showed that throughout the tournament, scoring in every game he has played in. We are mainly focusing on ourselves and focusing on our game rather than his.”
That is the line England keep coming back to: focus on themselves, not the phenomenon in the number nine shirt. Easy to say. Harder to execute when he starts to run.
A nation on edge
Back home, the phone lines tell their own story. Confidence, curiosity, a flicker of fear.
On BBC Radio 5 Live, Freddy from South London sounded almost relieved by the draw.
“I don’t see England losing tomorrow,” he said. “I think in terms of a team that we could have played, a quarter-final against Norway is a team that we will know a lot about. We know a lot about their players. This will be our best opportunity to get through to a semi-final. It will be like playing a really high-quality Premier League game.
“England players will be comfortable playing this game. There will be a predictability about Norway that England will be ready for. England could not have been paired with a better team at this stage.”
From Leeds, Monica, a Norway fan, offered the other side of the equation – the hope that rests almost entirely on one man.
“I think Haaland is an incredible striker,” she said. “In some of the goals he has scored in the tournament, he’s almost at walking pace, doesn’t look like he’s interested in the game, then takes one or two big strides and big jump and brings it into the back of the net in a big way.
“If Norway is going to have a chance, we of course rely on Haaland being on really good form.”
Bradley, an England supporter living in Oslo, sits somewhere between the two.
“A few days ago, I felt very confident but some little nerves are kicking in now with all the injuries and illnesses,” he admitted.
That tension mirrors the mood in camp: belief, but not bravado. Respect, but not fear.
Saka, fit again and sharp, talks about balance – hard sessions, then relaxed moments with team-mates and families in Kansas City. The work and the release. The seriousness and the smiles. England look and sound like a team that understands the stakes without letting them crush the joy.
On Saturday night, under the lights, that balance gets its truest test yet: Haaland hunting history for Norway, England trying to prove that being favourites is a platform, not a trap.
