World Cup 2026: England squad back in the UK after best World Cup finish since 1966
They touched down at the Birmingham Airport on Sunday afternoon after beating France 6:4 for the bronze medal.
France 4-6 England: Bukayo Saka reveals he is fully fit and wanted to play more at the World Cup after hat-trick in third-place play-off
Bukayo Saka scored a hat-trick as England finished third at the World Cup after a 6-4 win over France; the England winger admitted he wanted to play more after being available for the World Cup semi-final loss to Argentina; Thomas Tuchel made a tactical call to start Morgan Rogers instead.
Bukayo Saka revealed he "wanted to play more" at the World Cup after scoring a hat-trick to earn England a bronze medal against France - after Thomas Tuchel tactically left him out of the semi-final loss to Argentina.
Saka hit a treble in a crazy 6-4 win over France in the third-place play-off - which included two brilliant first-half goals in an England performance that completely contrasted from the semi-final loss to Argentina.
While England were defensive and dour last time out, the Three Lions showed quality in possession, threat on the counter and ruthlessness in attack. And many asked the same question: why didn't Saka play against Argentina?
"Of course, I would love to have played more," Saka told the BBC after the game. "But of course, it's not the time to talk about out that now. I try to do my talking on the pitch. It's done now. Move on."
Asked if it's good news for Arsenal fans to see him playing and scoring like this, Saka replied: "Yeah. I'm fit. I'm fit."
However, despite being "fit", Tuchel said he just "had a feeling" that Rogers would offer more in the semi-final win over Argentina.
"He did everything right," Tuchel said of Saka. "I had just a feeling in the semi-final for Morgan Rogers that he would be involved in something special. That was it.
