England boss Tuchel tells Arsenal star one area he must improve after eye-catching display vs Serbia
England boss Thomas Tuchel wants Noni Madueke to improve one area of his game after the Arsenal star put in an eye-catching display against Serbia.
The Three Lions went ahead early on through a Harry Kane header before Madueke broke away down the right before smashing the ball into the net to make it 2-0 on 35 minutes.
England centre-backs Ezri Konsa and Marc Guehi both got on the scoresheet in the second half with Nikola Milenkovic’s sending off for the hosts sandwiched in between those two goals, before Marcus Rashford made it 5-0 from the penalty spot late on.
Madueke was one of the standout performers on the night after some raised eyebrows about his move from Chelsea to Arsenal over the summer transfer window.
On the Arsenal winger, Tuchel told reporters after England’s win against Serbia: “He has the speed and he has the ability to win one-vs-one duels.
“I’m very happy that he scored today and was involved in goals because this is something he needs to add to his game: efficiency, being involved in goals with assists and finishes and goals.
“So that’s why I’m very happy today because he played with a hunger and with a directness.
“On top of that, he needs to stay focussed and I’m most happy about his attitude today, the reaction after ball losses, the work that he put in to help Reece [James] because we played a back four against a back five, so to help against the wing-backs and to push forward and do pressing.
“The work-rate is what I like the most in his performance today and, yeah, from there he’s fast, he’s direct, he likes to dribble. That’s what we want from him.”
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On his side’s overall performance, Tuchel added: “We were very strong.
“I think it was teamwork in the purest form. We helped each other out, we had the right intensity in the right moments, we put the work in to not allow one shot on target for a strong home team.
“If you want to do this, you need to support each other, you need to play disciplined and keep the intensity up… this is what we did and the players did excellent.
“Full credit to the team. We had a brilliant week from start to finish and this was the proof of it.”
READ: England player ratings v Serbia: Rice deadly, Rogers excellent, Madueke the perfect Saka back-up
When asked if England had put in the perfect display in Belgrade, Tuchel replied: “No, there is no perfect performance but, for today, it was a very, very good performance.
“I’m just going to repeat myself, we had a brilliant week and I told you yesterday: I see what I see, I feel what I feel and I’m just glad for the players that they could show that to the fans.
“They showed the fans, who were excellent by the way, and the fans back home what we are capable of and how this team worked together in this camp, that’s what I’m happy for.
“It was a very good performance with a perfect result.”
