Gareth Southgate has opened up on his decision to keep faith in Arsenal youngster Bukayo Saka for England's Euro 2020 last-16 clash against Germany.
The Gunners wonderkid made his first appearance of the tournament in the Three Lions' final Group D clash against the Czech Republic last week and caught the eye with an impressive performance.
So much so that he's kept his place in the starting XI.
Despite Southgate reverting to the three-man defensive system that worked wonders at the 2018 World Cup, Saka lines up on the right-hand side of an attacking trio alongside Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling.
Given the array of attacking options at Southgate's disposal, there was always going to be a few big names left rather disappointed with his team selection.
Phil Foden and Jadon Sancho are the two players in direct competition for Saka's spot on the right-wing and Southgate has suggested the 19-year-old's speed is the reason for his inclusion.
"What he did in the past game, games we’ve seen and training we’ve seen, speed is a big thing and we have got," Southgate told the BBC when asked to explain his decision.
"Movement up the top has to be good enough to move the backline around."
Speaking ahead of the game, Saka has already admitted that facing Germany is the biggest of his career to date.
"If I do play against Germany it’ll probably be the biggest game of my career, so I don’t know how I’ll feel on the day but right now I'm not scared of anyone really," Saka told BBC Sport.
"It is just nice to be there it reminds me of my childhood [playing at Wembley] I’ve always dreamt of playing there, it’s really special."
