‘They played with one guy LESS’: Zlatan Ibrahimovic slates England’s Noni Madueke for his performance against Norway
Zlatan Ibrahimovic attacked Noni Madueke and said he felt England were playing ‘one man short’ on the pitch with the Arsenal player.
Madueke received the nod from the club to start ahead of teammate Bukayo Saka but the move backfired as he struggled to make any headway against a well-drilled Norway defense in Miami.
When the half-time whistle blew, Madueke had made 28 touches and failed to create a single chance.
Ibrahimovic, who followed the match as a commentator for FOX Sports, expressed his criticisms harshly.
“They are playing with one player less so far,” Ibrahimovic said about Madueke.
‘Madueke was on the field and I have to say that every time he gets the ball he makes the wrong decision and walks on the field. If I’m Tuchel I’ll replace him, he did nothing in the first 45. Even the water break didn’t help… They played with one player less.’
Noni Madueke (right) was caught by Thomas Tuchel (left) at half-time against Norway
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (centre) attacked Madueke at half-time and said it felt like 10 men
Although Tuchel did not openly agree with Ibrahimovic’s statements on American television, he encountered a situation where Madueke was removed from the game at halftime of the match and replaced by Saka.
England got over the line thanks to the magic feet of Jude Bellingham, who scored twice in a 2-1 win, but Tuchel was far from satisfied in the end.
“We made life very difficult for ourselves today,” Tuchel said.
‘I’m not happy with his performance.
‘We have made life very difficult for ourselves. ‘We were sloppy, we were repetitive…we were lucky today.’
England are in their fourth World Cup semi-final, with either Argentina or Switzerland next in the semi-final and it remains to be seen whether Madueke will be cleared to restart.
