Alan Shearer believes Newcastle United defender Lewis Hall can make the left-back spot in the England side 'his own' in the next two UEFA Nations League matches. The former Newcastle and England captain points to Hall's relationship with ex-Magpies team-mate Anthony Gordon down the left-hand side as the key reason he should edge out Manchester City's Nico O'Reilly.
Hall made his first start for the Three Lions since November 2024 in Tuesday's 2-0 win away to Czechia, delivering an impressive performance across the full 90 minutes at Slavia Prague's Fortuna Arena. The 22-year-old has also started the season strongly at club level, building a good relationship with Newcastle head coach Matthias Jaissle.
Contract and recall
Hall recently signed a new contract at St James' Park before earning a recall to the Three Lions squad, having missed out on a place at the World Cup over the summer. England boss Thomas Tuchel said it was 'on him' to prove his worth at international level, and his performance in Czechia has surely gone some way to doing that.
O'Reilly started England's first Nations League game against Spain last weekend but has since pulled out through injury. That leaves Hall in pole position to start against Croatia in Rijeka on Saturday, as well as the return fixture against Czechia at Wembley on Tuesday.
Shearer's verdict
"Lewis Hall can make the left-back spot at England his own," Shearer told Betfair. "He's a very, very talented player and he's brilliant going forward. I guess you've got two quality players in that position, Nico O'Reilly is different from what Lewis Hall can offer you. O'Reilly can play in midfield as well."
"I guess what might give Lewis Hall the edge is his understanding with Anthony Gordon. We didn't see that in the summer at the World Cup, obviously, but I think that the big thing to come out of Tuesday's game was the understanding between them two."
"Obviously, they know each other very well having played together at Newcastle. So, the rapport and the understanding is there between the both of them and that's what I would take from the Czechia game, maybe more than anything."
Gordon's Barcelona form
Gordon joined Barcelona from Newcastle in the summer and has made an excellent start to life at the Camp Nou, registering five assists in his first seven matches for the Catalan giants. The 25-year-old has been England's best player across the last week, scoring against both Spain and Czechia, and has registered three goals and four assists across his last six Three Lions appearances.
"We only saw a glimpse at Newcastle of how good Anthony Gordon could turn out to be," Shearer added. "I also probably looked at him and thought that he wanted to leave. I think we could tell that, but he looks as if he's got loads of energy. He's got an appetite for where he is. Obviously, the surroundings, he's happy about going to Barcelona. He's happy with the move."
"I think you can tell that in his performances, whereas we probably didn't see that enough last season at Newcastle. That is fine, I get you're always entitled to go and do what you want to do in your career, and he now looks as if he's in a happy place, both with England and with Barcelona."
