England taking penalty practice extremely seriously – Noni Madueke

Noni Madueke says England are taking penalty practice “extremely seriously” as Thomas Tuchel’s side head into the World Cup knockout stage.

The Euro 2024 runners-up face the Democratic Republic of Congo in the round of 32 on Wednesday having topped Group L thanks to wins against Croatia and Panama sandwiching the stalemate with Ghana.

England are heavy favourites for the meeting at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in downtown Atlanta but nothing is being left to chance, including the potential for a penalty shootout.

Spot-kicks have so often been the scourge of the national team down the years, including the European Championship final loss to Italy in 2021, and Tuchel’s men are ready to go the distance this summer.

England winger Madueke said: “Just like all phases of play, we’re taking it extremely seriously.

“As you go into knockout football it’s something that becomes more prominent in the games, so like every part of our game we want to be at the highest level when it comes to that.”

Asked if he would volunteer to take a penalty, the Arsenal winger said without hesitation: “Yeah, for sure. I’m always open to take a penalty.

“At the end of the day it comes down to the coach’s decision and what he wants and what he thinks is best for the team, but from my side I’m always ready.”

Madueke was not one of Arsenal’s five penalty takers in the Champions League final shootout loss to Paris St Germain a month ago, when he split the workload with Saka as he is doing for his country.

The 24-year-old, who joined from Chelsea last summer, replaced Saka in Budapest and did so on Saturday against Panama, having started England’s first two Group L matches on the right.

“Obviously it’s well documented that we’re very close, so normally it