'Scar in us': Bukayo Saka admits England not over World Cup semi-final defeat

[p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/england/j9N9ZNFA/"]England[/a] begin their Nations League campaign [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/england-j9N9ZNFA/spain-bLyo6mco/?mid=C42ySF3j"]against world champions Spain at Wembley[/a] on September 26th, just nine weeks after they conceded two late goals in a painful last-four loss to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/messi-lionel/vgOOdZbd/"]Lionel Messi[/a]'s [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/argentina/f9OppQjp/"]Argentina[/a] in Atlanta.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/saka-bukayo/08NLEo06/"]Saka[/a] scored a hat-trick as England beat [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/france/QkGeVG1n/"]France[/a] 6-4 to finish third at the World Cup.[/p][p]But the 25-year-old [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/arsenal/hA1Zm19f/"]Arsenal[/a] winger made it clear that the pain of failing to win England's first major men's international football title since a 1966 World Cup triumph on home soil ran deep.[/p][image alt="Win probability" id="d010b15b-0e5b-4739-afc3-6564a3fbf81a" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="6b177043-a99b-47c3-ad50-65a2ce8aa59b" original-width="2160" original-height="2700" /][p][b]"Obviously, there's still a scar in us,"[/b] Saka told the BBC on Wednesday.[b] "When you believed, and everyone was so united and so confident we could do it, not just us, but the whole country.[/b][/p][p][b]"We're trying to draw a line under it now and focus on the new international season and what we have coming up now.[/b][/p][p][b]"You try to move on as soon as possible, but you know, a scar is a scar (and) decides to heal when it heals itself.[/b][/p][p][b]"But like I said, we've come here to a new international season, and we've got four massive, difficult group games to try to qualify us in the Nations League, which we're fully focused on."[/b][/p][p]Saka, managing an Achilles injury throughout the World Cup in North America, remained on the bench during the semi-final defeat to Argentina as England manager Tuchel opted for defensive substitutes in what proved to be an unsuccessful bid to hold on to a 1-0 lead.[/p][embed guid="ae98982f-5cce-48d6-bca4-8a87d22b0a8e" url="https://x.com/England/status/2102480949078368394" social-type="twitter" /][p]Tuchel faced fierce criticism for his tactics as England sat on their advantage against Argentina before his side's late collapse in Atlanta.[/p][p][b]"We have had critical reviews that will stay, of course, behind closed doors,"[/b] said Tuchel when unveiling his Nations League squad last week as he looks to guide England to Euro 2028 glory.[/p][p][b]"I am the biggest critic of myself, and reflection is sometimes necessary to get better, and experience is a crucial part of coaching,"[/b] the 53-year-old German added.[/p][p]Euro 2028 will be co-hosted by England, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/scotland/fZRU25WH/"]Scotland[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/wales/YcUP0Nqp/"]Wales[/a], and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ireland/Gfyqk1aG/"]Ireland[/a].[/p][infobox id="5a8fbd57-e97c-4bdc-9f6b-fb0fb254e893" /]