Bukayo Saka scores his maiden career hat-trick during England's Euro 2024 qualifier against North Macedonia

In the Euro 2024 qualifier against North Macedonia, the Arsenal winger achieved his first-ever hat-trick while playing for England. The dominant performance resulted in a resounding 7-0 victory at Old Trafford, propelling them closer to Euro 2024.

Bukayo Saka, a key player under Gareth Southgate since his impressive World Cup performance, capped off a remarkable season for the Arsenal winger by increasing his goal tally to seven in his last eight international matches. Reflecting on his achievement, Saka expressed his immense happiness and highlighted the team's exceptional display, noting that their opponents struggled to contain them.

Saka scored 3 goals while Harry Kane scored twice, Marcus Rashford and Kalvin Phillips also found the target, leading England to maintain a perfect qualifying record with four wins.

Saka completed his first career hat-trick thanks to a precise pass from Kane that tore apart the North Macedonian defence. 

When Gareth Southgate was asked about the 21-year-old's proximity to the highest level of football.

“He’s there,” Southgate replied matter-of-factly.

Despite an Achilles heel injury, Saka has been fantastic in England’s fourth straight Group C.

“When he broke into the team at Arsenal what struck us was that in a team that was having a difficult time he was performing at a really high level,” Southgate said.

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“Then when the team were playing well he was still a key player and performing at a really high level.

“So, that says a lot about his mentality, his ability to deal with pressure. And that’s the environment that we’re in all the time. He’s exceptional to work with.”

With this win, England secured a six-point lead over Ukraine in Group C and a nine-point advantage over Italy, who have two games in hand. 

England's commanding performance solidified their position as strong contenders for Euro 2024, with their sights set on Germany next summer.

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• Bukayo Saka
• England
• England's Euro 2024 qualifier
• North Macedonia