Anthony Gordon has revealed he was 'buzzing' when England captain Harry Kane was substituted, allowing him to take and score a penalty in the Three Lions' 3-0 victory over Costa Rica. The Barcelona forward delivered an impressive performance as England eased past the Central American side in their final World Cup warm-up match in Orlando.
Gordon set up Declan Rice for the opening goal after just nine minutes and then converted from the penalty spot just after the hour mark to score his third goal for England. Speaking to ITV Sport, the winger admitted he was eager to take the spot-kick with regular taker Kane already off the pitch.
“I was buzzing H was off. I was looking round to find him. When I knew he was off, I wanted to take it. I love penalties and I love the pressure of them so buzzing to see that one go in,” Gordon said.
England manager Thomas Tuchel explained the situation after the game. “We just had a lot of subs and it was not clear the order of the takers. Anthony was the second taker (behind Kane). This is normally on the wall. It was not on the wall here. So it was a bit of a miscommunication, but it was our responsibility, so we needed to do it verbally, no problem,” Tuchel said.
England have now completed their World Cup preparations, with their opening match against Croatia scheduled in six days. Tuchel reflected on the team's readiness, saying, “Until now, it was more a feeling of a pre-season, like an overseas pre-season, and it was good like this. I think it's enough if the pressure and tournament pressure comes a bit later, because it will come. The tension will come naturally.”
“I think we set the tone today in the meeting and the players were ready to follow, to have the next step in intensity and the way we play, to push ourselves and get a good feeling out of it, which we absolutely did. I felt today the energy in the stadium was amazing and I thought ‘OK, if we can really play like this and grow into the tournament and have this kind of cohesion and brotherhood and team spirit that we showed today, then we will have an amazing connection with the fans’,” Tuchel added.
“This will hopefully be an amazing experience because it's the first time for me and it's a World Cup, and it's coming. I think once the ball is rolling and games are already there, then I will feel it, and the latest in Kansas when we prepare then the official match. The tension will grow but normally the stuff that I personally enjoy the most, then you feel that you're alive,” he concluded.
