Gary Lineker delivers James Maddison verdict after England’s draw with Belgium

Add as preferred source on Google

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder James Maddison delivered an impressive cameo performance for England in their 2-2 friendly draw with Belgium on Tuesday night.

The Spurs playmaker began the game on the bench but entered the fray with 15 minutes to go and made a key contribution for the Three Lions.

With seconds left in the game and England trailing 2-1, Ollie Watkins kept the ball in on the byline by the Belgium goal, heading it towards Maddison.

The Tottenham star had four blue shirts surrounding him, but he managed to work the ball back to the unmarked Jude Bellingham, who duly fired home.

Spurs icon Gary Lineker took to X after the game to praise Maddison and Bellingham for their roles in England’s last-gasp equaliser.

What has Gary Lineker said about Spurs star James Maddison?

Lineker called the Tottenham star “brilliant” and hailed the Real Madrid man’s “excellent finish”.

The BBC Sport pundit also described the Three Lions’ efforts on the night as “very encouraging” despite “a couple of errors”.

TBR View

Maddison has been a revelation for Tottenham since joining for a reported £40million last summer.

From an England perspective, it’s a shame he didn’t get that much game time during the latest international break.

But from a Spurs perspective, it’s great. Maddison hasn’t had to exert himself too much for these two friendlies, which is good for the north Londoners’ run-in.

It’ll be exciting to see how Tottenham fare over the coming weeks, with a Champions League spot at stake. Also, it’ll be intriguing to see how England fare at Euro 2024.

The Three Lions have a brilliant midfield, with the likes of Maddison, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Kobbie Mainoo all likely to give Southgate a good selection headache.