Tottenham: Gary Lineker wowed by ‘Brilliant’ James Maddison after what he did for England
Tottenham star James Maddison sent a message to both Ange Postecoglou and Gareth Southgate with his “brilliant” late contribution for England against Belgium on Tuesday (26 March).
Maddison has been a revelation in North London since he arrived at the club.
The 27-year-old made a brilliant start to his Spurs career before an injury kept him sidelined for more than two months.
Since his return to action in late January, the midfielder hasn’t been at his magical best, although his contribution for England on Tuesday suggests he might be starting to find his feet again.
Named on the bench by Southgate, Maddison was introduced in the 74th minute and proved to his international boss that he should be on the plane to Germany for the 2024 UEFA European Championships in June.
With seconds left on the clock, the Spurs ace played a wonderful pass to Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham who finished well to ensure the match ended 2-2.
It was a moment of pure quality, which received praise from pundits such as Gary Lineker and Jamie O’Hara, with the former writing via his official X account (26 March), “Brilliant from Maddison and an excellent finish by Bellingham.”
Meanwhile, talkSPORT pundit O’Hara took to his X account (26 March) to urge Southgate to start Maddison this summer, writing, “Maddison makes things happen, needs to be starting with Bellingham, Southgate wake up it’s our time with these players use them properly”.
James Maddison looks back to his best just in time for Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham
While Maddison provided to Southgate that he should be starting at the Euros, he also demonstrated to Postecoglou at the same time that he is ready for the final 10 games of the Premier League season as Spurs look to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
As per Sofascore, Maddison played two key passes and created one big chance in just 20 minutes against Belgium.
In addition, he succeded with 100 per cent of his dribble attempts and won five of his six ground duels while making three tackles.
But it was his assist that really caught the eye.
After a long ball played forward by Pickford, Ollie Watkins did well to keep the ball in play which allowed the ball to bounce for Maddison in the box, with Bellingham making a late run from midfield behind him.
With four Belgium players around him, Maddison flicked the ball into the path of Bellingham with his first touch, using the outside of his boot to find his England teammate.
It was a perfectly weighted pass that landed right at the feet of Bellingham, who then stroked the ball into the bottom right-hand corner.
If Maddison can produce moments like that back at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium between now and May, he might just fire Postecoglou’s side all the way to the Champions League.
In other Tottenham news, Postecoglou must hand one fringe player at Spurs an opportunity after what he did on international duty.
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