Thomas Tuchel heaped praise on Noni Madueke after England’s statement World Cup qualifying win over ten-man Serbia, but told the winger he still needed to add more goals to his game going forward.
Madueke produced arguably his finest performance yet in an England shirt and doubled the visitors’ lead with an dinked 35th-minute finish – via an exquisite Morgan Rogers assist – in a rampant 5-0 victory.
Captain Harry Kane, Ezri Konsa and Marc Guehi also got on the scoresheet to silence Belgrade’s Rajko Mitic Stadium, before second-half substitute Marcus Rashford put the icing on the cake with a well-taken penalty at the death.
Madueke’s composed strike was his first at senior level for the Three Lions – in what was his ninth appearance – and the sense of pride was written all over his face as he wheeled away to celebrate with his team-mates.
The forward – who swapped Chelsea for Arsenal this summer – will look to further strengthen his case for a starting role in Tuchel’s attack when England return to action against Latvia next month.
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The result ensured England maintained their 100 per cent record in Group K after five games, with Tuchel’s men sitting seven points clear of nearest rivals Albania
‘He has the speed and he has the ability to win one-vs-one duels,’ England head coach Tuchel said of Madueke’s eye-catching display.
‘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.’
Tuchel was immensely satisfied with England’s all-round showing, which capped off what he felt had been a ‘brilliant’ camp ‘from start to finish’.
‘We were very strong,’ the German added.
‘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.’
Asked if England gave a ‘perfect performance’ 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.’
Speaking shortly after the final whistle, a beaming Madueke said he was ‘delighted’ with the team’s display.
‘I’m delighted for the team performance, for the win,’ he told ITV’s Gabriel Clarke.
‘I think it was a really, really top performance today and, yeah, thank God I was able to score the goal. It was just a top day overall.’
On his first-half goal, Madueke added: ‘It was a great flick from Morgan [Rogers] and as soon as it broke for me I had one thought in my head which was to go as fast as I could to the goal and then compose myself for the finish.
‘I’m really happy. It was a great feeling, of course. It’s something you work for and you dream of when you’re a lot younger and for it to come to fruition today is a great feeling.’
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