Noni Madueke has been called out by a former Chelsea coach and player for his actions during England's World Cup win over Croatia. After being picked over Arsenal teammate Bukayo Saka, Madueke played his part as the Three Lions got up and running with an exciting 4-2 triumph in Dallas.
Madueke won England's penalty, which Harry Kane converted after a retake, and worried the Croatians with his pace and directness. There were moments of frustration for the former Chelsea man, too. On one occasion, after being stopped in his tracks by his defender, Madueke turned to England fans and shouted "vamos," Spanish for "come on!"
The gee-up attracted mockery from former Chelsea midfielder Jody Morris, who had two stints as a Blues coach, including one under Frank Lampard. Morris posted on X: "Imagine being in a 1 v 1 situation as an England winger… defender gets the better of you and blocks your shot when maybe a cross was the better option... so you then gesture to the England fans shouting Vamos, Vamos."
Some fans were also taken by surprise by Madueke's actions. One said: "Bro, you are English and you play in England! Where did Vamosssss come from?" Another added: "I thought he said vamos and was thinking, my lip reading must be awful!" A third commented: "I thought I was going mad! He definitely was saying Vamos. How strange."
England hit top gear in the second half against Croatia. Jude Bellingham and substitute Marcus Rashford found the net during a vastly improved second-period display in Texas, where Kane's first-half brace saw him equal Gary Lineker's 10-goal record as England's top scoring player at a World Cup.
Tuchel said: "I loved the second half. All of it. I loved the reaction to a very complicated first half. We played against a top opponent. I think we showed a bit of nerves. Maybe we wanted to overdo it, but we clearly overthought our decisions."
"We encouraged them to go for it, to play with more courage, to be brave, to be ourselves and I loved the reaction. We created a lot of chances, we had a lot of ball wins, we scored goals and overall I think we deserve to win. There are still things to improve. I think this is also quite normal after a first match. You need to grow into a tournament."
"We got a tough draw to start against Croatia, so the positives are clearly the ones where we focus on now and enjoy the moment. We have enough days to adjust what needs to be improved."
