Anthony Gordon sends warning to England stars as he calls out major Thomas Tuchel decision ahead of Nations League

Anthony Gordon has admitted that he was surprised by a decision England head coach Thomas Tuchel made during the World Cup semi-final, while also explaining why his teammates cannot replicate the Spanish national team’s style.

Gordon, now at Barcelona following a £69.3million move from Newcastle United, was speaking ahead of England’s upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures against Spain, Czechia and Croatia.

The fixtures will be England’s first since their 6-4 bronze medal match victory over France, which came after the heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to Argentina.

Gordon gave the Three Lions the lead after 55 minutes against the South Americans before late goals from Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez sent the 2022 winners through to the final, where they went on to lose 1-0 to Spain.

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Gordon surprised by Tuchel World Cup decision

Despite his positive contribution, Gordon was withdrawn 17 minutes later, a decision which he has admitted surprised him.

“Yeah, I was, to be totally honest, only because I’d just scored, I’m the type of player that I’ve said before, I’m really good when I play off adrenaline," he said. "And when I score, I normally don’t have many bad games, because I get into an untouchable mode of confidence; it makes me feel on top of the world, especially in that moment, on that stage. I felt really good.

“But as a winger, to be honest, I come off most games; it’s normal. It’s usually the position that’s targeted first for substitutions, because the players on the bench in your position are usually quick, and usually really good as well, but also, managers feel that when you’re getting a bit tired, you can add fresh legs and they can really go.”

The 25-year-old Liverpudlian then explained how making games a “fight” became England’s “MO” after the 3-2 win over Mexico in the round of 16.

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He added: “That probably became our MO a bit too much for the next two games, and ultimately it didn’t work for us in the semi-final, but there’s no telling that if we would have stayed with the forward at the back, that we still wouldn’t have lost that game, so I think in hindsight everything’s easier."

“It makes a lot of sense to me why the manager would then go more safe and more defensive [against Argentina],” Gordon continued.

“As players we could have done more to take the initiative, to control the game. We had the best team, we had the best players in that semi-final, and in the last 20 minutes we didn’t play the best football. That’s something the manager can’t really affect.”

'It's not in the English DNA...' - Gordon explains biggest difference between English and Spanish players

The Everton academy graduate turned his focus to the culture surrounding the England game, suggesting that English players do not possess the same ability to make decisions and control games as some of the Spanish players he has rubbed shoulders with at Barcelona.

“I think culturally it’s not just that tournament or that game where we couldn’t control a game,” he added. “England, as a nation, we don’t have that strength like the Spanish, where we control games like they do; it’s not in us. I’m not sure it’s something that can be taught, because now I think playing in Spain, I can speak with an educated view on the way they keep the ball is different; it’s much different than I’ve ever experienced playing in this country, so I’m not sure we can ever get that, but we can definitely get better.

“It’s not in the English DNA, and it’s probably something I’ve only realised to that extent from playing in Spain now, because I think we as English players are educated the same way as the Spanish players, we know how to keep possession, but it’s the decision-making of certain players in Spain, which is just not a natural thing.”

Gordon has settled into life at Barcelona well, producing four assists in his first six La Liga appearances with the Catalans winning all seven of their opening matches in the league.