Wayne Rooney namechecks Arsenal star amid ‘big concerns’ and warns England ‘will go out’ | OneFootball

Wayne Rooney has warned England manager Thomas Tuchel about the problems he faces, as the former Manchester United star criticised Arsenal winger Noni Madueke after the win against DR Congo.

England beat DR Congo 2-1 at Atlanta Stadium in the Round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup on Wednesday.

The Three Lions went behind after just seven minutes, and it took Tuchel’s side until the 75th minute to restore parity.

It was former Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane who made it 1-1, with the Bayern Munich star scoring again on 86 minutes.

Kane’s heroics for England have already seen him being tipped to win the Ballon d’Or, but England will know that a narrow comeback win against DR Congo is not what their fans wanted.

Former Man Utd and England international forward Rooney has said that he has “big concerns” about the Three Lions.

Rooney has said that he was not impressed with the performance of Arsenal winger Madueke, who started as the right-winger in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Wayne Rooney has ‘big concerns’ about England

Rooney said on BBC One: “For me, there are big concerns.

“Obviously, we are all delighted that England have gone through, but there are big concerns there, and in particular when England lose the ball, they are so open.

“Against a better team, and let’s give DR Congo a lot of credit for how they played, causing England some problems, but against a better team, I think we are in big trouble, if we don’t sort that out.

“We are so open in midfield.

“I think the connection isn’t great between the back-line and midfield.

“Full-backs have struggled. Nico O’Reilly has done well tonight, but full-backs are struggling.

“Madueke struggled.

“There’s just no connection, there are big gaps in the middle of the pitch, and that’s a big worry for me.”

Rooney added: “That’s not just in this game, but in previous games, so I think that gives Thomas Tuchel answers.

“I think he has got answers of what he has got, and he really needs to look at other, or we will go out.”

How Noni Madueke played for England vs DR Congo

Football365’s Ian Watson noted about Madueke’s performance in his England Player Ratings: “Madueke at least didn’t limit himself to only coming inside, with his best moments coming on the outside, especially when he teed up Rashford on 35 minutes.

“But once his marker understood Madueke wasn’t limited to the inside line, he had to back off and give the Arsenal stand-in room to deliver on his strong side. Which he did. Once.

“But Bellingham’s header, like everything else at that point, was saved by the Yashin regen in the Congo net.”

Madueke was replaced by his Arsenal teammate Bukayo Saka on 61 minutes.

During his time on the pitch, the 24-year-old former Chelsea winger took two shots, which were not on target, and played three key passes.

Madueke had a pass accuracy of 96%, won one header, took 54 touches and attempted three dribbles.

The Arsenal winger also made two tackles, one interception and one clearance.

Madueke put in 10 crosses, too, but only three of them were accurate.