Noni Madueke proved a handful for Greece in England’s impressive 3-0 Nations League victory in Athens on Thursday night but the Chelsea winger had to justify his unusual ritual after being taken off
Noni Madueke proved a handful for Greece in England’s impressive 3-0 Nations League victory in Athens on Thursday night but the Chelsea winger had to justify his unusual ritual after being taken off Noni Madueke proved a handful for Greece in England’s impressive 3-0 Nations League victory in Athens on Thursday night but the Chelsea winger had to justify his unusual ritual after being taken off
If you believe Noni Madueke really does have a particular ritual after being substituted, the Olympic Stadium in Athens posed a particular problem.
The dressing-rooms were about a mile away from the pitch. Confused?
Well, when Madueke was replaced by Mykhailo Mudryk midway through the second half of Chelsea ’s draw with Arsenal last Sunday, he went straight down the tunnel, prompting stern criticism from some fans and pundits. But after a sparkling hour in an England jersey on Thursday night, the 22-year-old attacker was happy to explain his sharp exit at the weekend.
He said: “I literally went down the tunnel to go to the toilet and I came back 30 seconds later. If you watch a lot of games when I come off I always go straight down the tunnel to go to the toilet. It is nothing major at all.”
And his club manager, Enzo Maresca, was obviously not over-impressed, he considered it to be nothing major, but then he is unlikely to pick an unnecessary fight with Madueke. Because in just over an hour against Greece, Madueke showed what a prodigious talent he is.
And he has the self-confidence to go with it. After producing a wonderful assist for the Ollie Watkins opener that silenced a hostile Greek crowd, Madueke said: “I feel like I did my job. I created the first goal, I was a threat pretty much until I came off and that is what I try to bring to my game every time I step on the pitch and thank god tonight, it was perfect.
“I have got a lot of belief in my ability even if it is not going so great. I still believe I can impact games. That is what I tried to do and thankfully it worked but also at Chelsea.
“I have had some great moments this season and sometimes I have not been as good as I like but that is part of the process and I am always full of confidence and that does not change when I put on an England shirt.” Madueke is one of Lee Carsley’s band of under-21 players who have made such a big impression during the interim manager’s tenure.
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In fact, they have been so impressive that it is almost like there are two sets of young England players vying for places, with Madueke competing with Bukayo Saka – one of the absentees from this camp – for a place in the first-choice starting line-up.
But Madueke said: “I don’t look at Bukayo like competition. I look at Bukayo like a team-mate who plays for England. I know his quality and he has fantastic ability and he is a player that I look at to try and implement parts of his game into my game. I don’t look at him like ‘I am coming for you’.
“The manager will make his decision and I am happy to be part of this team and to start to make a difference for England this early on in my career is great.”
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