Madueke says he can be England’s World Cup game-changer

KANSAS CITY: Noni Madueke believes he can be England’s spark as Thomas Tuchel’s men prepare to face the Democratic Republic of Congo in the World Cup knockouts, with patience likely to be required against a stubborn defence.

England play the African nation in Atlanta in the last 32 on Wednesday, with criticism still ringing in their ears following their laboured efforts in the group stage, which included a dull 0-0 draw with Ghana.

DR Congo, playing at their first World Cup since 1974, held Portugal to a 1-1 draw earlier in the tournament and are expected to set up defensively against Thomas Tuchel’s team.

But Arsenal forward Madueke, vying with clubmate Bukayo Saka for the right-wing spot, said he could be the man to unlock stubborn defences in the knockout phase.

“I feel like you have to feel like you’re a top player, you’re here for a reason, you’re playing for your country, you’re on a bigger stage,” he said at England’s training base in Kansas City on Monday.

“You have to have that confidence, that excessive confidence in your ability because at the end of the day, alongside your teammates, on that pitch, it’s down to you to deliver.

“So whatever gets you in that mind frame to be able to do that, I feel like that’s good.”

Madueke, 24, pointed out that England were not alone in facing the challenge of teams whose main aim was to cancel out opposition attacks at the 2026 tournament.

“I feel like it’s not just us,” said the winger. “I feel like every team has difficulties with the opposition setting up 11 players in 30m of space.

“It’s not easy to break down. I think we’ve seen other top nations struggle as well. Spain, Portugal in the last game. So, yeah, it’s just part of football now.

“Of course, when you play England, naturally you’re going to have a defensive approach because of the quality in our team.

“From our perspective, we have the same patterns and we’ll look to try and implement them a little bit better than we did in the game against Ghana, which probably will be similar to this one.”

England captain Harry Kane and Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham have been the star turns for Tuchel’s team so far, scoring five goals between them.

“Two very decisive players, two players that take responsibility for us,” said Madueke. “I think Jude, especially in the last game (a 2-0 win against Panama), was unplayable.

“Obviously you know what you’re going to get from Harry in terms of the goalscoring, so I’m really delighted that they’re playing their best football and we hope it continues for the knockout stages because we need them.”

Madueke said he was trying to avoid the baking heat of Kansas City as much as possible as temperatures soar in the American Midwest.

“It’s so hot outside,” he said. “Inside is air-conditioning, so I’d rather just stay inside and focus on the next session.”