Madueke: 'Other teams will be more worried about us'

Noni Madueke believes England have developed a fear factor at the FIFA World Cup 2026 after reaching the semi-finals for the fourth time in history.

Thomas Tuchel’s men came from behind to beat Norway 2-1 after extra-time on Saturday, with Jude Bellingham scoring twice to set up a last-four clash with Argentina.

The victory in Miami came after a thrilling 3-2 triumph against Mexico on their home soil and a hard-fought 2-1 win over DR Congo - games in which Bellingham and Harry Kane shone with five goals between them.

And Madueke insists that the Three Lions’ in-form forwards will have the opposition concerned as England continue their bid to add a second star to the shirt in the United States.

Asked how he was feeling about Wednesday’s game against Lionel Messi and Co. during the latest episode of Lions’ Den Connected by EE, Madueke said: “Very confident.

“Like B [Bukayo Saka] said, we have match-winners and going through the tournament we haven’t really focused on the opposition in a sense where we’re worried about them.

“I feel like other teams will be more worried about us.”

“A lot of times it comes down to moments,” added Bukayo Saka, who was alongside his Arsenal team-mates Madueke and Eberechi Eze on the Lions’ Den sofa.

“We’ve got a lot of players who can produce those moments so you’ve just got to stay focused, keep the ball out of your net and then you just know that one of us in the front line is going to produce a moment of magic and win the game for the team.”

That’s exactly what happened in Miami on Saturday, as Bellingham took his goal tally for the tournament to six with a crucial double to seal England’s semi-final spot.

“It’s obviously a massive moment for us, for the team,” said Eze, who came off the bench at half-time to replace Declan Rice against Norway.

“To see what we’re doing for people back home, it’s special. We’re trying to enjoy it as much as we can.

“It was a game full of emotions, full of everything. You can sort of look past things and not see it for what it is, but it’s insane to go through and to win a game of football it’s never easy.

“Of course there’s things we can improve on, things we can do better, but ultimately we won and that’s the main thing.

“I’m trying to focus and enjoy that as much as we can because to be in the semi-final, closer to winning the World Cup, is a dream for all of us.”

A place in the final against Spain or France awaits the winners of Wednesday’s game, and Madueke is determined to end a memorable summer on the ultimate high.

Asked by host Andrew Mensah if he feels closer to his fellow squad members after all they’ve been through in North America, he said: “For sure.

“If you spend six weeks with people… you wouldn’t normally do that throughout the season.

“Obviously we [Madueke, Eze and Saka] spend every day with each other but for the rest of your team-mates who you don’t see that often, I feel naturally you get closer and you’ve all got a common goal as well, so that helps.

“It’s been a good experience, coming into the last week now. It’s all about finishing strong.”