Bukayo Saka: 'The last few weeks have been the best weeks of my life and I’m hoping it only gets better'

Bukayo Saka has hailed the 2022 FIFA World Cup as the best weeks of his life and has described the feeling in camp as like being in a family.

Saka has impressed for the Three Lions this tournament, scoring three times in three outings, averaging a goal every 71 minutes.

The 21-year-old is one of several young players to shine at this year’s World Cup as they helped England reach Saturday’s quarter-final with France.

Saka is an extremely popular member of the squad, with a number of his team-mates talking about how much they love spending time with the Arsenal star in camp.

And speaking on Thursday’s Lions’ Den with M&S Food, Saka said: “This World Cup has been quite a journey so far. I have enjoyed every moment of it and the last few weeks have been the best weeks of my life. And I’m hoping it only gets better.”

He continued: “When I come away with England, it feels like a family. We are all so happy for each other when one of us scores or plays really well and I just want to keep making memories with the rest of these guys.”

Saka was also able to live out another dream last week by meeting one of his idols David Beckham, who had visited the England camp and passed on words of wisdom to the Three Lions players and also received a shirt with his legacy number on it from former team-mate Gareth Southgate.

And Saka said: “It was a special moment because he has always been one of my idols and it was great to see him and get my picture. 

“I made sure I asked for a picture in a polite way as he was talking to Jack Grealish and Gareth the manager and as you know, you can’t interrupt the manager, so I made sure I was nice and polite.”

The spirit and togetherness of the squad has been evident not only on the England social media channels but also on the players.

This can be seen on the forward’s TikTok account where he has been putting some of his England team-mates through the ‘Saka Spelling Challenge’, taking great delight when they fall just short.

@bukayosaka87 Todays episode of Saka’s Spelling School @James Maddison @Jack Grealish ♬ Cricket Sound - Sound Effects

Saka told Lions’ Den with M&S Food: “I had been told for a long time to set up my own TikTok channel so I thought why not and I might as well try to have some fun with it while I’m out here. So I did the first video with Madders and Jack Grealish and people seemed to like it so I did more of them.

“Some of the guys have even been asking me to test them. They have been like ‘come and test me, I’m ready’ so we will see. I don’t go easy on them when they are wrong, especially when they are confident with it beforehand. But James Maddison is pretty good and Trent is alright at it too.”

He continued: “It’s really important in tournament football to have a great team spirit because you can see the quality we have on the pitch and also off the pitch.

“Everyone supports each other with their trust and happiness, whether they’re playing or not. I think that is why we have done so well over the last few years.”

Saka started his footballing journey at Greenford Celtic around the age of six and has gone on to become an England and Premier League star.

The forward believes his faith has played a huge part in his success and at a press conference earlier this week explained: “I’m continuing to read my bible every night while I am out here and for me, it’s really important to have the presence of God in me at all times. It gives me more confidence that God’s plan is perfect so I can go on the pitch and know that God has my back.

“The main thing for me is just keeping my faith, having that faith in God, so I don’t need to be worried or nervous about any outcomes.”

The players enjoyed a day off on Tuesday but since then, they have been working hard ahead of Saturday’s 2022 FIFA World Cup quarter-final between England and France.

Saka explained how the England players have found a good balance of calmness whilst still preparing well for one of the biggest games of their careers so far.

He told Lions’ Den with M&S Food: “I can see the confidence we have in each other ahead of the match. We are all relaxed and focused and on Friday we will make sure we look into the details even more as we try to beat France on Saturday.”