Gary Neville & Ian Wright praise under-fire Arsenal ace as England reach World Cup last 16

Noni Madueke should start against Mexico, according to ex-England stars Gary Neville and Ian Wright (Picture: The Overlap)

Gary Neville

and

Ian Wright

have backed

Thomas Tuchel

’s decision to keep faith with

Noni Madueke

at the World Cup and believe the

Arsenal

winger should continue his run in the side against Mexico.

Lingering concerns surrounding Bukayo Saka’s fitness

opened the door for Madueke to play a significant role in the group stage, with the forward starting both of England’s first two matches against Croatia and Ghana.

Saka has been managing an Achilles injury in recent weeks but returned to Tuchel’s XI for

the Three Lions final Group L contest versus Panama

– his first start for his country since a qualifying win over Serbia last November.

Many had expected Tuchel to remain with the same frontline against DR Congo, but the German reverted back to Madueke again, insisting the decision said ‘nothing’ about Saka’s fitness levels in his pre-match interview with the BBC.

England's hero (Picture:Getty)

However, with England trailing 1-0 and struggling for ideas in the final third, Tuchel sent on Saka and Anthony Gordon in place of Madueke and Marcus Rsahford respectively, and the double change worked wonders.

While

Harry Kane deservedly took the plaudits after an inspirational second-half brace to drag England over the line

, the fresh legs of Tuchel’s substitutes undoubtedly made an impact – and it was Gordon who provided both assists.

England hero

Stuart Pearce was among those to criticise Madueke’s performance once the dust had settled

, accusing the attacker of ‘giving up’ and ‘taking the easy option’ far too often in Atlanta.

Madueke has started three of England’s opening four matches (Picture: Getty)

Saka has been managing an Achilles injury (Picture: Getty)

However, dissecting the comeback victory on

The Overlap

, ex-England internationals Jill Scott, Wright and Neville were all largely positive about Madueke’s contribution thus far.

‘I did like Madueke today, I think he put some decent balls in,’ Scott said.

On the topic of Madueke, former Arsenal striker Wright chimed in: ‘He’s the best out of the wingers at the moment.

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‘I think we’re settling for something that we need more of because he’s the best at the moment out of the four of them.

‘It’s not like he’s pulling away, he’s just doing what he needs to be doing and that’s what we need from a couple of them.

‘It’s a

World Cup

, so they need to be going up that next level of what they’re doing.’

Neville represented the Three Lions at two World Cups (Picture: Getty)

Neville dismissed calls for Madueke to be dropped, insisting the Arsenal man deserved the right to be given another opportunity against Mexico in the last 16.

‘I think Madueke, at the moment, is a lot better than Saka in terms of starting,’ the former Manchester United right-back – who represented England at two World Cups – said.

‘I agree with you, I think he has to start on the right. He’s the one.

‘I think on the left, does he stick with

Marcus Rashford

or does he put in someone a little narrower? I don’t know who that player is by the way, a

Morgan Rogers

maybe, who just plays a little narrower on that left, tucks in alongside the two midfield players.’

Kane came to the rescue of England in Atlanta (Picture: Getty)

Turning his attentions from the right to the left wing, Wright encouraged Tuchel to stick with using Gordon as an impact sub at the Azteca.

‘I’d go with Rashford,’ he said.

‘Gordon might be that guy who comes on for 25-30 minutes and he’s comfortable.’

Tuchel’s men face off against co-hosts Mexico for a quarter-final place (Picture: Getty)

In his post-match interview with the BBC, Kane – having captained his country for a record-breaking 91st time – praised Saka and the rest of England’s substitutes for coming on and bringing a new dimension to the attack.

‘It feels amazing to be honest. What a crazy game,’ he said.

‘They are a tough team and then after that first break we were much better and their keeper made some unbelievable saves. We spoke about people having hero moments and it can be anyone. It was me today.

‘We spoke all week about just being ourselves. There are still things to work on for sure and these rounds are just about getting through.

‘We are in the part of the tournament when you have to grind wins out, and that’s what we have done today.

‘We are the same as every other nation. We are through, so enjoy it. I want them to enjoy it with the fans, and then we go again in four days.

‘We spoke after the Croatian game about subs making an impact and you saw that again. Over 90 minutes, we are tough to handle. I am pleased for everyone involved and hopefully we’ll keep it going.’

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