Bukayo Saka has lifted the lid on why he took off his shirt after Raheem Sterling’s goal against Czech Republic.

Sterling gave England the lead over their Group D rivals in the 12th minute of the Euro 2020 clash on Tuesday night.

Saka, 19, played a key role in the build-up to the goal and was later named man of the match as the Three Lions reached the last 16, where they will face Germany.

The Arsenal star hardly put a foot wrong all game but he raised eyebrows by taking off his shirt during the celebrations for Sterling’s winning goal.

This act is usually reserved for the goalscorer, although very few players would have the audacity to take off their shirt after scoring so early in a match.

As it happens, Saka did not remove his jersey as a mark of celebration; instead, he was trying to cool down on a warm Wembley evening by removing his underlayer.

“Hey, I was roasting,” Saka told Lions’ Den on England’s YouTube channel. “It was so hot. I had my thermal on.

“Before that, H [Harry Kane] went down and I tried to take my thermal off. But I thought, what if someone does a quick free-kick and I’m running with my shirt off.

“So when we scored I just took it off quickly. But yeah the camera was on me and it looked a bit funny. A couple of my boys sent me pictures of it yesterday and I was just laughing at it.”

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