Without scoring or providing an assist, playing as a left winger James Maddison still claimed a leading role in England’s European Championship qualifier against Ukraine (2-0). The Leicester City playmaker has received many plaudits for his performance at Wembley.
‘New’ playmaker stands up with England: “Felt like a second debut”
Maddison made his debut for England in 2019, but has never played for The Three Lions since. It has been a thorn in the side of English football fans and the midfielder himself for years. On Sunday evening, three and a half years after his baptism of fire, Maddison finally got another chance. He made his starting debut against Ukraine and did not disappoint.
In a free role on the left, Maddison performed his defensive duties, but especially excelled creatively. In total, he created five chances on his basic debut, the last one who managed that was Theo Walcott in 2008. He also had two opportunities himself, but unfortunately for Maddison, the ball did not want to go in.
Still, he received many compliments afterwards. Sky Sports rates his performance with an 8, while BBC analyst Chris Sutton calls the playmaker ‘ undroppable ‘, in other words: you can’t take it out anymore. National coach Gareth Southgate is also full of praise: “We wanted to put James in anyway, because he is doing very well at his club and we knew he could do well,” he says in conversation with the BBC.
Maddison: “I’m proud to be back and I hope I’ve won the manager’s trust tonight”
“James was solid defensively, so Ukraine couldn’t play through us. He was also excellent on the ball,” said the national coach. Teammate Bukayo Saka also had a compliment for Maddison: “James played a fantastic game and really deserved a goal,” said the Arsenal striker.
Then Maddison himself also spoke: ‘This almost felt like a second debut, it was so long ago!’, he told the BBC. “I worked hard for this. I love football and really wanted to get back into the squad. As an aspiring footballer it’s always hard to watch your friends play while you’re at home on the couch,” Maddison admitted.
He concluded, “I’m proud to be back and I hope I’ve won the manager’s trust tonight. I don’t listen to the media anymore. I knew I could change the manager’s mind by playing well for Leicester. It went okay tonight, I’m always critical of myself. But with the team it’s a brilliant start to qualifying.”
