England vs. Greece: Saka to break 86-year record with his next international goal

Bukayo Saka has given himself the opportunity to break an 86-year record ahead of England‘s two UEFA Nations League fixtures this month.

England will play Greece at Wembley before travelling to Helsinki to face Finland over the next week, going into those games in a strong position to make an instant return to League A.

Saka started both internationals in September, against Ireland and Finland, where the Three Lions recorded successive 2-0 victories in their first matches under the stewardship of interim manager Lee Carsley.

After not getting on the scoresheet in either of those games though, Saka still has the chance to make history if he features in either of England’s upcoming games.

Saka to set new landmark?

The 23-year-old’s strike against Switzerland in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals over the summer was his 12th goal in an England shirt, and his next will see him become Arsenal‘s leading England goalscorer in history.

Saka tied the tally set by Cliff Bastin, who played shortly before World War Two in the mid-1930s, and can now move outright on top with his next England goal.

© Imago

Former Arsenal greats Ian Wright and Tony Woodcock are already in Saka’s wake, having only managed nine while playing for the Gunners, while Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck are a further one back with eight.

That strike against the Swiss also meant that Saka is the highest-scoring Arsenal player at major tournaments for England, with that being his fourth, having also netted three goals at the 2022 World Cup.

Saka scored twice in the 6-2 demolition of Iran that got their campaign underway in Qatar, before also scoring one of the three in the comfortable last 16 win over Senegal.

Saka in the form of his life this season

Saka will enter the international break in great form for Arsenal, who sit third in the Premier League, level with Manchester City and just one point behind Liverpool.

© Imago

The 23-year-old had arguably his most influential performance of the season so far at the weekend, in their 3-1 win over Southampton.

Going 1-0 down early in the second half to the relegation-favourites, Saka provided two assists for Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli which turned the game on its head in the space of 10 minutes.

It was then Saka who put the game beyond doubt, latching on to a loose touch by Yukinari Sugawara before firing beyond former teammate Aaron Ramsdale in the closing stages.

Those two assists have moved Saka out on his own in that metric across Europe’s top-five leagues this season, taking him to seven in the Premier League, two more than Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane, Alex Baena and Joao Neves, and only two short of his tally from last season.

Only Cole Palmer (11) and Erling Haaland (10) have contributed to more goals than Saka (nine) in the Premier League this season, as the Arsenal wide man has two goals on top of his seven assists.

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