Allardyce demands Tuchel drops Gordon and Madueke to freshen up England attack against Panama

Sam Allardyce has urged Thomas Tuchel to drop Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke for England’s final World Cup group-stage match against Panama on Saturday, insisting the pair have been “well below par” in the tournament so far.

England head into the fixture having won one and drawn one of their opening two games, beating Croatia before being held by Ghana. In both matches, the forward line struggled to consistently threaten, prompting Allardyce to call for a shake-up.

“Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke’s performances have been well below par for me, so I’d drop them for the Panama match,” Allardyce said. “Thomas Tuchel needs to spice things up, and the players who have performed well off the bench can come freshen up the starting team and be better than the players they have replaced.”

Allardyce specifically pointed to Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka — both used as substitutes — as ready-made upgrades. Saka already has a goal to his name in the tournament, scoring against Croatia, and Allardyce believes the pair’s impact from the bench justifies immediate promotion to the starting eleven.

The former Bolton and West Ham manager outlined his preferred lineup in a 4-1-4-1 formation: Jordan Pickford; Djed Spence, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi, Nico O’Reilly; Declan Rice; Morgan Rogers, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford; Harry Kane.

“Out of possession that gives the team stability, and in attack you’ve got those extra options from an added midfielder rather than having two of them sitting back,” he explained. “It is such an important thing as a manager, having the confidence to change the team, quite possibly strengthen it, and put out better performances than the team before that.”

Allardyce acknowledged that Tuchel is unlikely to make wholesale changes, but maintained that a refreshed lineup would give England greater creativity and balance heading into a must-not-lose group decider.

Meanwhile, Arsenal midfielder Eberechi Eze added his voice to the growing chorus of praise for Saka ahead of the Panama clash. “His level of understanding of the game is insane,” Eze said. “He’s a player who makes the right decision a lot of the time, and he’s so effective, so efficient. I enjoy playing with him a lot because you know what you’re going to get from him.”