The Leopards could prove a tough nut to crack against an England side that have struggled to break down opponents
Noni Madueke says England must be at their best when they face DR Congo on Wednesday and that complacency could hurt them. He would know – he started against Ghana.
England, the Three Lions, face the Leopards in their World Cup last-32 tie with the frustrating game against Ghana in the group stage still fresh in their memory. They played out a dour goalless draw with Carlos Queiroz’s disciplined team and could reasonably expect a similar challenge versus DR Congo in Atlanta.
But who are DR Congo and is there a possibility of them causing an upset in Atlanta?
They started out in Group K, where they held Portugal to a draw and then lost to Colombia, with Daniel Munoz’s goal 13 minutes from time the only difference between the two sides.
But Munoz’s goal could have been tagged unlucky for DR Congo after they were distracted by a penalty appeal at the edge of their box, before goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi was then wrong-footed by a deflection.
The Leopards proceeded to defeat Uzbekistan 3-1 in their last game to qualify for the knockouts with four points. Will that be enough to beat England?
One thing is clear, and it is that Madueke wants to leave no room for underestimating their opponents.
“I expect a difficult game for sure,” Madueke said. “When you get to this stage of the World Cup, you can’t take any opposition lightly. They will have their strengths and their qualities that they try to impose in the game. This game will definitely be difficult and we’ll be ready from the start.”
Madueke started England’s opening two matches before Bukayo Saka returned to the right wing for the 2-0 victory over Panama. He will likely now start on the bench if Tuchel opts to give Saka a run from the start, but whichever Arsenal winger starts, they will be tasked with stretching a DR Congo team that will aim to stay compact and take their chances on the counter.
“Of course, when you play England, naturally you’re going to have a defensive approach because of the quality in our team,” Madueke. “From our perspective, we have the same patterns and we’ll look to try and implement them a little bit better than we did in the last game versus Ghana, which probably will be similar to this one.”
The winner of the tie will face either Mexico or Ecuador in the last 16.
