Former Newcastle United man gave 'statement performance' in England win against Mexico

Former Newcastle United forward Anthony Gordon delivered a ‘statement performance’ as England claimed a momentous win against Mexico and secured a place in the last eight of the World Cup finals.

The versatile winger saw his preparations for the tournament dominated by talk of whether he or Marcus Rashford would land a place in Thomas Tuchel’s starting eleven for the finals - and it was Gordon that was given the nod for group stage fixtures against Croatia and Ghana before Rashford started the 2-0 win against Panama and a round-of-32 victory over DR Congo.

However, Gordon provided two assists during a substitute appearances in the latter of those games and he was recalled to the starting eleven as the Three Lions faced co-hosts Mexico at the iconic Azteca Stadium in the early hours of Monday morning. The former Everton winger produced a much-improved display as a ten-man England side edged a five-goal thriller thanks to a brace from Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham, a Harry Kane penalty and a dogged and disciplined defensive performance.

Gordon won the penalty that proved to be the difference between the two sides when the full-time whistle was blown after he raced on to a Kane flick before being brought down by Mexico goalkeeper Raul Rangel - but it was his willingness to take opponents on and press Mexico high up the pitch that drew praise from former Manchester City and Aston Villa defender Micah Richards as he challenged Gordon to ‘keep it going’ in Saturday’s last-eight clash with Norway.

‘Statement performance’

He told The Rest is Football podcast: “He was brilliant and I feel as though he needed that performance because there has been a lot of talk about him and Rashford and who should start, who should come on. That pressure going to Barcelona comes with obvious expectation. Sometimes, it can be difficult to deal with that when you’re playing for a team and you’re not getting as many headlines or the headlines going into the tournament were about who was going to start, Rashford or Gordon. Up until this moment, he’s not really produced his best stuff - but tonight, he was brilliant.

“The way he wanted to take people on, the way he wanted to press, the way he got the penalty, everything about his game was dynamic. You called it, Gaz (Gary Lineker), you said the game was going to open up, and Mexico did. Brad (Friedel), as well, he said that if England play to their best abilities, they would win the game. I just thought his performance was a statement performance and when you get those performances for England, it will do the world of good for his confidence. He just needs to keep it going.”

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