Fluency the key for Noni Madueke before England’s ‘difficult’ DR Congo test

Noni Madueke has warned that England must not take the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) lightly but expects a much more fluent attacking display than against Ghana during the group stages. England struggled to break down Carlos Queiroz’s side in the 0-0 draw in Boston last week and the DRC are expected to employ the same counterattacking style for the last-32 tie in Atlanta on Wednesday. Madueke started against Croatia and Ghana before losing his place to his Arsenal ­teammate Bukayo Saka for the win against Panama. Saka is expected to retain his spot on the right of England’s attack, with Djed Spence in line to start at right‑back because of the injuries sustained by Reece James and Jarell Quansah. But Madueke believes a DRC team that features several Premier League players, including Newcastle’s Yoane Wissa and Noah Sidiki of Sunderland, should not be underestimated. Madueke said: “I expect a difficult game for sure. When you get to this stage of the World Cup , you can’t take any opposition lightly. They will have their strengths and their qualities that they try to impose in the game. This game will definitely be difficult and we’ll be ready from the start.” Asked whether there was any concern that England may again struggle to break down a low block, he added: “It’s not just us. I feel like every team has difficulties with the opposition setting up 11 players in 30 metres of space. It’s not easy to break down. I think we’ve seen other top nations struggle as well. …