When Anthony Gordon joined Barcelona, the surprisingly good Spanish he spoke at his unveiling was, he said, a product of his dream to play for them. There are times when it seems his rise has been underpinned by ambition. Gordon may be a great self-improver, the scrawny kid who can hassles and harry defenders. But he has also coveted some of the trappings of stardom: the No 10 shirt, the penalties, the move to the glamour clubs.
And so it was that when Eberechi Eze’s shot was handled that Gordon stepped forward in the Three Lions’ final preparation before the World Cup 2026 starts. He would not have done had Harry Kane still been on the field, but the England captain had departed a few minutes earlier. But Gordon can capitalise on the departure of penalty takers.
When Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson, each capable of excelling from 12 yards, left Newcastle in the same summer, it provided an opportunity for Gordon. He saw an opening. He had the self-belief; some would say the greed. A dispute with Kieran Trippier in a rout of Qarabag came from a personal greed for goals, Gordon taking his second spot kick of the evening when Nick Woltemade seemed to need a goal more. The fact he scored 10 goals in the Champions League this season owed something to the fact five were spot kicks.
Gordon’s third goal for England came from 12 yards. It gave him a double: a goal and an assist in the same match. It may have also reversed the pecking order on the left flank. Marcus Rashford seemed to have leapfrogged him when he was England’s outstanding player against New Zealand on Saturday. But if there may have been something significant in the starting 11 against Costa Rica, with Gordon preferred, a chance was taken.
Left wing has been shaping up as one of Thomas Tuchel’s biggest decisions. Gordon looked intent on making it for him; creating Declan Rice’s first goal since becoming the official vice-captain was an early impact. Gordon was initially awarded a penalty, even if it was removed when replays proved he went to ground too easily. He instead took a spot kick. It was proof of a determination to be the main character but also intriguing. There could have been other options, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka among them. The Merseysider stepped forward, though.
In the context of Gordon against Rashford – the latter a man who can testify to the pain that taking penalties for England can bring – a determining factor could be the Barcelona new boy’s skill in close quarters. His dynamism is a given, his speed forever a habit; but, trapped near the byline, he showed an ability to find players. A burst to the byline brought the breakthrough.
The Gordon-Rashford duel has come to look a straight shootout, even though there is a case for playing Morgan Rogers, a Tuchel favourite, on the left; Unai Emery does for Aston Villa at times. Indeed, Ollie Watkins’ late third goal came from Rogers cut in from the left to have a shot parried.
But Tuchel’s job description suits Gordon and Rashford more, men with greater pace, who spend more time nearer the touchline. A proper left winger was what England lacked in Euro 2024, with Phil Foden instead joining the band of No 10s who got in Kane’s way; or vice versa.
Too often two years ago, England ignored one flank. That lesson, at least, may have been learned as Nico O’Reilly and Gordon combined productively. England did not really have a left-sided partnership in Euro 2024, in part because the auxiliary left-back was usually the right-footed Kieran Trippier, forever looking infield.
Whether England will be as potent on the right remains to be seen. Given Saka’s fitness issues, his deputy may be starting against Croatia but Noni Madueke looked too one-footed when he missed an open goal and hit the post. Tuchel omitted more clinical finishers from the right flank, in Cole Palmer and Jarrod Bowen, in part due to a preference for game-stretching pace on the side.
Beyond that, Rice’s excellence was a given, a couple of his newer set-pieces a sign of England’s planning in their attempts to emulate Arsenal’s excellence from dead-ball situations. The fourth Gunner in the squad, Eze, was shot-happy when he came on.
But England’s rampant finish came in the context of limited opponents. Costa Rica were World Cup quarter-finalists 12 years ago. A dozen years on, they came third in a qualifying pool topped by Haiti. This looked like preparation for facing Panama; it may be less useful for facing Croatia or Ghana.
If nothing else, a triumph for Gordon was facilitated by a triumph of drainage facilities in Orlando. A swamp turned into a playable pitch for a delayed game. England may be back in Florida for a possible quarter-final with Brazil. If so, Gordon’s summer could contain both Barcelona and Brazil.
