England lost the Euro 2020s final to Italy last night. It was decided by penalties and it was poor young Saka who missed the crucial penalty.
At first, my inclination was to feel sad for Saka. The poor fella, at nineteen years old this incident looks like it could do real damage and potentially haunt him for the rest of his days.
But then again, in the long run, this might not be a bad thing.
This could be the crucible that defines him.
After all it was a former player who famously missed a penalty for England in the 90’s who went on to lead England to their first final since 1966.
Gareth Southgate didn’t let his penalty miss define him, he brought his country closer to glory than any manager for the past 60 years. And the past 60 years have included some great teams.
I hope Saka can do the same for his career.
Thomas Duggan 