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England Still Carry World Cup 'Scar', Says Saka

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Bukayo Saka says England remain scarred by their late World Cup semi-final loss to Argentina, as they host Spain at Wembley in the Nations League.

England winger Bukayo Saka says his team are still carrying the "scar" of their World Cup semi-final defeat by Argentina, when they came within touching distance of a first men's final since 1966. Thomas Tuchel's side led before two late Argentina goals turned the tie, and England fell to a 2-1 loss.

The defeat denied England the chance to reach the showpiece for the first time in nearly six decades. They responded with a 6-4 win over France in the bronze medal match, their best World Cup finish in 60 years, but the wait for a second world title continues.

"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." He added that the squad had tried to move past the result quickly, but that "a scar is a scar, it decides to heal when it heals itself."

Saka started three of England's eight matches at the tournament. He now faces an immediate reminder of what slipped away, with England hosting world champions Spain at Wembley on Saturday at 19:45 BST. The fixture opens a run of four Nations League group 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 said. "We have got four massive, difficult group games to try and qualify us for the Nations League [knockouts] that we are really focused on."

Saka backs teenager Dowman

Saka also tipped his 16-year-old Arsenal team-mate Max Dowman to win a senior England call-up in the near future. "I think so," he said. "His talent is insane. It's up to him how far he is going to go in football. His talent is crazy."

England Under-21 manager Lee Carsley agreed on the teenager's ability but said keeping Dowman with the under-19s during this international window was the better choice. "He is more than capable of playing in the under-21s," Carsley said, adding that dropping down would let the youngster "play the minutes" and "consolidate where he is in his career and play with his friends again and take that little bit of pressure off him."

Carsley said he expected Dowman to join the under-21s in due course and wanted to discuss the path ahead directly with the player and his family. "That is something I am keen to have a conversation with him and his parents, on the way we see his pathway going, because he is an amazing talent and someone we are very lucky to have," he said.

Bukayo Saka, England football, World Cup semi-final, Thomas Tuchel, Nations League, Spain Wembley, Max Dowman, Lee Carsley

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