Bukayo Saka enjoyed one of the greatest nights of his life as his hat-trick ensured England finished a breathless season with a thumping triumph.
The Arsenal forward lit up Old Trafford, starring in a 7-0 win that Gareth Southgate described as being 'outrageous'; Saka became only the third man to score a treble on Southgate's watch – Harry Kane (five) and Raheem Sterling are the others. It was also the 91st England hat-trick.
Saka has been carrying an Achilles issue and was forced off after 45 minutes in last Friday's 4-0 thumping of Malta but he didn't allow the pain to hold him back and was exultant as he reflected on the size of his achievement.
'This is a feeling I can't really put into words,' said Saka, whose second goal – from a 40-yard Trent Alexander-Arnold assist – was the pick of the bunch. 'I'm so happy. I like the first one but I have to go for the second one, when it's outside the box, top corner.
'It was a really special display with me and Rashy (Marcus Rashford) running down the wings we were really direct. Trent is a top, top player. At half time he said to me he was going to do that pass; I was looking for him to thank him.
'It's been a very long season, some positives and some negatives. I don't think I could have ended it better. We're really happy with the way the fans supported us.'
He left the field to a standing ovation and was then given a ringing endorsement by Southgate, who said: ‘The injury is something he’s had for a few weeks. It needs managing and it would have been easy not to appear.
‘But when you have one of the best nights of your life, it’s a reminder it’s worth going through those things. To see the joy on his face… he is so popular, humble and talented. He has been finishing like that all week. It was an outstanding performance.’
That sentiment did not just apply to Saka, as the team delivered the professional and ruthless display that Southgate hoped would be the case. He had stressed to the squad the importance of not losing focus and there was never any question of that, as they moved a step closer to Euro 2024.
‘The scoreline is outrageous but you would not expect this as there was no evidence Macedonia would suffer like that,’ said Southgate. ‘Huge credit to us. Our senior players were brilliant. Jordan Henderson won’t get the headlines but the way he set the tone was really important.’
