Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon impresses as Nottingham Forest man helps England Under-21’s to Euro final

Gordon has had an impressive tournament out in Romania and Georgia and had grabbed two goals and an assist ahead of the semi-final - including a strike in the last round which booked England their appearance against Israel. And he continued this superb form into the semi-final, making an immediate impact at the Adjarabet Arena.

The Young Lions shaded the early stages of the contest and looked like they would make this dominance count when they were awarded a penalty after Gordon was fouled following some pinball in the penalty area. A lengthy VAR check confirmed the decision, however, Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White was unable to convert the spot-kick that would have given Lee Carsley’s side the lead inside 17 minutes.

However, the former Wolves man made amends for his penalty miss by giving England the lead just before half-time with a brilliant headed effort. England’s lead was doubled just after the hour mark when Cole Palmer tapped home a wonderful team move to put daylight between them and their opponents.

Like he had in previous rounds, Gordon played in a central role for Carsley’s side during the clash with Israel. After another solid performance for the Young Lions, Gordon was withdrawn in the 74th minute and replaced by Cameron Archer, the man who bagged England’s third and final goal in the dying minutes.

Gordon will be hoping he has done enough to earn a starting berth in Saturday’s final.