England players carrying 'scar' from World Cup exit, says Bukayo Saka - BBC Sport
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England players carrying World Cup scar - Saka
Image source: Getty Images
Image caption: Bukayo Saka started three of England's eight games at the World Cup
By Sam Drury, BBC Sport journalist
Published 9 minutes ago
England winger Bukayo Saka says the team are still carrying the "scar" of their heartbreaking World Cup semi-final exit to Argentina.
Thomas Tuchel's team were on the verge of becoming the first England side to reach a men's World Cup final since 1966, but were stunned by two late Argentina goals as they fell to a 2-1 loss.
A thrilling 6-4 victory over France in the bronze medal match gave the Three Lions their best World Cup finish in six decades, but the wait for their second trophy goes on.
"Obviously, there is still a scar on us when you believed and everyone was so united and so confident we could do it," Saka said. "Not just us, but the whole country we felt."
"You try to move on as soon as possible, but you know a scar is a scar, it decides to heal when it heals itself."
England get an immediate reminder of what might have been as they host world champions Spain at Wembley on Saturday (19:45 BST) in the first of four Nations League matches over the next two weeks.
"We are trying to draw a line under [the World Cup] now and focus on the new international season that we have coming up," Saka added.
Meanwhile, Saka believes it is only a matter of time before his Arsenal team-mate Max Dowman, 16, earns a senior England call-up.
"I think so," Saka said. "His talent is insane. It's up to him how far he is going to go in football. His talent is crazy."