Madueke calls for composure ahead of DR Congo clash
Noni Madueke has warned that England must not take the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) lightly but expects a much more fluent attacking display than against Ghana during the group stages. The Arsenal winger stressed the importance of holding nerve if the match goes to penalties, as the teams prepare to face off in Atlanta on Wednesday.
England's struggle against low blocks
England struggled to break down Carlos Queiroz's side in a 0-0 draw in Boston last week, and the DRC are expected to employ the same counterattacking style for the last-32 tie. Madueke started against Croatia and Ghana before losing his place to Arsenal teammate Bukayo Saka for the win over Panama. Saka is expected to retain his spot on the right of England's attack, with Djed Spence in line to start at right-back due to injuries to Reece James and Jarell Quansah.
Madueke believes the DRC team, which features several Premier League players including Newcastle's Yoane Wissa and Sunderland's Noah Sidiki, should not be underestimated. "I expect a difficult game for sure," Madueke said. "When you get to this stage of the World Cup, you can't take any opposition lightly. They will have their strengths and their qualities that they try to impose in the game. This game will definitely be difficult and we'll be ready from the start."
Confidence in attacking patterns
Asked whether there was concern that England might again struggle to break down a low block, Madueke added: "It's not just us. I feel like every team has difficulties with the opposition setting up 11 players in 30 metres 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. 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 last game versus Ghana, which probably will be similar to this one."
Penalty practice and psychological edge
Madueke, who it is understood was due to take the sixth penalty in Arsenal's shootout defeat against Paris Saint-Germain last month before Gabriel Magalhães's crucial miss, has been practising spot-kicks with the rest of the squad. He emphasised the psychological aspect of penalties: "A lot of it is psychological," he said. "How you strike the ball, depending on your run-up and whether you stop or whether you wait for the keeper, or whether you just pick a corner and look to strike it as cleanly as possible. All those things go into it."
Healthy competition with Saka
Asked whether competing with Saka for club and country has made him a better player since joining Arsenal from Chelsea last summer, Madueke said: "I feel like you always have to be at the highest level because you know you have a top player waiting and biting at your heels to try and get in the team. I think that type of healthy competition is good. Playing for Arsenal and England, you don't really need anyone else to keep you at the highest level."
