‘The face of defeat!’ – Bukayo Saka already set up to be blamed for England failure at Euro 2024 as Ian Wright issues ‘gaslighting’ warning to Three Lions fans

England lost to Iceland in dismal circumstances, going down 1-0 in their final warm-up friendly for Euro 2024. Saka was introduced as a second-half substitute, and only played 25 minutes, but has since been placed on the back page of many newspapers, to the chagrin of the ex-Arsenal legend.

Wright believes that Saka is being set up to be blamed for England’s potential failure at Euro 2024, in similar circumstances to Euro 2020, when Saka, Marcus Rashford, and Jadon Sancho were at the centre of sickening racist abuse after missing their penalties against Italy in the final.

Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, he said: “Now more than ever let’s get behind & support these young people. We can all see what’s happening & who’s being set up to be the face of defeat. We are going to be gas lit with explanations & justifications, but those deciding who goes on the back pages know what they’re doing. Let’s keep our energy focused on giving these players pure love & support throughout the tournament.”