Zlatan Ibrahimovic in brutal verdict on England star: ‘They played with one less guy’

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Noni Madueke’s poor performance against Norway made it feel like England were playing with ‘one guy less’.That is the brutal verdict from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who slammed the Arsenal winger’s decision-making during the Three Lions’ 2-1 win.Tuchel brought Madueke off at half-time, and the stats showed whyAFPMadueke bore the brunt of the criticism for England’s sloppy first-half showing in Miami that saw him hooked at the break.Thomas Tuchel gave the 24-year-old the nod to start on the right ahead of club team-mate Bukayo Saka in a move that backfired.Madueke failed to create a single chance, completed just one successful dribble and made just one pass into the final third.In total, he had 28 touches – only three of which were in Norway‘s box, while he only won half of his four ground duels.And Ibrahimovic, who was covering the World Cup quarter-final as a pundit for FOX Sports, delivered a withering assessment of Madueke.Ibrahimovic slams England’s Noni Madueke“They are playing with one player less so far,” he said of the 16-cap England international during half-time.“Madueke has been on the pitch, and I have to say every time he gets the ball he makes the wrong decision, and he’s walking on the pitch. “If I’m Tuchel, I change him; he’s done nothing in these first 45. Even the hydration break didn’t help… They played with one guy less.”Tuchel may not have been listening to Ibrahimovic’s remarks, but he came to a similar conclusion over needing to hook Madueke.Ibrahimovic was deeply unimpressed with Madeueke’s first-half performanceHe was given a 1/10 in Adrian Durham’s player ratingsTuchel had been visibly furious with his No.20 moments before Andreas Schjelderup had put Norway into a shock lead.Former England captain Stuart Pearce remarked: “He’s in Madueke’s ear quite ferociously. That’s good management on what I’m seeing.“Because I think our two wide players hold the key in this game because that’s probably where they’re at the weakest.”The former Chelsea star was then replaced by Saka, who is still nursing a lingering Achilles injury, for the start of the second half.Ibrahimovic’s stinging criticism of Madueke comes days after his private coach claimed that he’s a player fans ‘love to hate’. Saul Isaksson-Hurst told talkSPORT’s Hawksbee and Jacobs: “He’s still a developing player. He wants to get better. Tuchel was particularly angry with Madueke for his poor showing before the first-half hydration break“But you look at the Premier League, there aren’t many more direct wide players than Noni.“He wants to get better. He wants to improve. And he wants to be the best version he can be. People love to hate him for some reason.”In Madueke’s absence, England got the job done against Norway – with a double from Jude Bellingham sealing an extra-time victory.