Is Bukayo Saka playing for England tonight? Arsenal winger eyes first 2026 World Cup start

Injuries always appear to be one of the biggest talking points around England at a major tournament, but it feels as though this is even more the case than usual this time round. Thomas Tuchel could be without three of his first-choice starters for Saturday's nights clash with Panama in New Jersey, a match the three Lions have to win to guarantee top spot in Group L. Well, Bukayo Saka very much falls into that category.

Is Bukayo Saka expected to start for England tonight?

For the third World Cup match in a row, Saka's evening is forecast to begin on the bench. The 24 year old continues to manage an Achilles tendinitis issue, hence why Noni Madueke he deputised against both Croatia and Ghana thus far.

Of course, once the knockout stages begin, Tuchel will surely want Saka in his starting lineup. Thus, for this winnable game at MetLife, expect Madueke to once again get the nod on the right flank.

England's winger depth chart at the World Cup

How Bukayo Saka has performed for England recently

Saka has only featured pretty infrequently for England since the October 2024 due to injury, albeit he did score against both Serbia and Wales at Wembley last year. At major tournaments however, he started three times at Euro 2020, four of five matches in Qatar and then all seven games as the Three Lions reached the final of the most-recent European Championships.

Thus, once England come up against elite-level opposition in the knockout phase, Tuchel will want Saka in his starting lineup.

England team news vs Panama

In the last couple of days ahead of this clash with Panama, there have been two pieces of concerning injury news for England fans. First, Reece James has suffered a hamstring injury, which will see him miss the next two games, amid rumours that his tournament could be over.

When asked about this, Tuchel said "nobody could see it coming, Reece was in good shape", which seems an odd thing to say, given that James is one of the most injury-prone players on the planet. Meantime, Elliot Anderson is also a doubt due to muscle tightness, ahead of his £116 million move to Manchester City. With Saka also not 100%, it'll be interesting to see what team Tuchel goes for, with England set to be in action again as soon as Wednesday against Senegal or DR Congo in the last 32.

England predicted starting lineup vs Panama

• Jordan Pickford.

• Djed Spence, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guéhi & Nico O'Reilly.

• Declan Rice & Kobbie Mainoo.

• Noni Madueke, Jude Bellingham & Marcus Rashford.

• Harry Kane.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow