Anthony Gordon has backed Thomas Tuchel’s decision to substitute him during England’s 3-2 defeat to Spain on Saturday night.
In a thrilling game at Wembley, Lamine Yamal capitalised on Marc Guehi’s mistake to put Spain in front after just two minutes. Gordon pulled England level by combining well with Jude Bellingham to finish off a swift counter-attack. Harry Kane then put the Three Lions in front before the half-time break.
Kane’s missed penalty proves pivotal
Kane squandered the chance to put England 3-1 ahead as he struck the crossbar with his penalty in the 54th minute. Spain then pounced on a second defensive England mistake to equalise in the 60th minute as Nico O’Reilly gifted the ball to Dani Olmo, who found Alex Baena on the edge of the area and the Atletico Madrid midfielder curled an excellent effort to beat James Trafford.
Mikel Oyarzabal scored the winner for the World Cup champions with 16 minutes remaining with another neat finish from close range.
Gordon: No complaints with manager’s call
Gordon, meanwhile, was England’s brightest attacking outlet and Tuchel was criticised by supporters over his decision to replace the Barcelona winger with Morgan Rogers with 20 minutes to go. However, Gordon admits he was feeling tired and Tuchel made the right decision to bring him off.
‘I’m always disappointed when I come off only just because I want to score more goals and be part of every part of the game,’ Gordon told BBC Radio 5 Live. ‘I want to get more assists and excite people who are watching me. Tonight I felt like it was maybe the right decision because I felt a bit tired. I’d done a lot of long distance running at high speed so tonight I have no complaints with the manager taking me off.’
Gordon: Gap between England and Spain is not big
Gordon was also adamant that the gap between England and Spain ‘is not big’, despite the defeat at Wembley.
‘Good game, one I thought we were in control of. The penalty is a massive moment. If that goes in we are in a much better position than when it doesn’t but obviously H [Harry Kane] slips and there is nothing you can do about a moment like that,’ Gordon said.
‘I think all of their goals came from us really and at that level you can’t afford to do that. It was a bit of a rollercoaster in the match. It must have been a great game to watch for the fans, it was a great game to play in.
‘They’re [Spain] the best in the world for a reason. When it went to 3-2 you see their ability to really control possession. I think against someone like that you have really got to go for the throat which we did. The penalty was a massive momentum shift. We just lost to the best in the world. The gap is not big in my mind and I think tonight proved that. We just need to not make mistakes at the highest level.’
