Anthony Gordon has urged England to stop trying to replicate Spain, arguing that controlling games is not part of the “English DNA” and that the Three Lions can still win major tournaments by playing to their own strengths. The Barcelona winger was speaking at St George’s Park as England prepare to face world champions Spain on Saturday in their first match together since the World Cup.
Gordon, who moved to Barcelona from Newcastle for £69.3m in the summer, said his experience in La Liga has shown him how different Spain’s approach is. He is not convinced English players can be taught to reproduce Spain’s intricate possession game. “I’m speaking from a point of view where I feel like we are trying to replicate Spain,” he said. “Because I’m in Spain, I know we have just as good players, but they have different qualities, so why are you trying to make those players the same as the Spanish players? Because the Spanish players lack the things that we have and vice versa.” He added: “It’s not in the English DNA.”
Gordon said he now has an educated view of how Spain keep the ball, and that their decisions on the ball are different. “It’s the way they’re built,” he said. “I don’t know whether it is something that maybe we can’t ever put a name to, but they’re definitely built different.”
England’s recent tournament record has fuelled debate about whether they can control possession against elite nations. They have lost two consecutive European Championship finals and were beaten by France and Argentina in the past two World Cups. England lost their semi-final 2-1 to Argentina at the World Cup, before beating France 6-4 in the bronze medal match, achieving their best finish since 1966. Spain won the World Cup by beating Argentina, dominating the final with 65% possession and restricting Lionel Messi’s side to two shots in 120 minutes, neither on target.
Many criticised the manner of England’s defeat by Argentina after head coach Thomas Tuchel substituted goalscorer Gordon and switched to a back five. The tactical tweak invited pressure, with Enzo Fernandez equalising before Lautaro Martinez scored a stoppage-time winner. Gordon said he had “never felt worse” after the game and believes the “scar” left by defeat may mean the squad take a different approach at the next tournament. “[The] scar doesn’t have to be a negative one because it might lead us to victory in the next tournaments,” he said. “We can’t keep looking at other countries and trying to be like them, because we’re not them – we’re English and we have our own strengths which they don’t have, so maybe we start playing the way we’re good at.”
Gordon’s goal in the semi-final capped an impressive tournament in which he started five of England’s games and provided four assists. He was taken off 17 minutes after putting England ahead against Argentina and said he was surprised by the substitution. He said that after scoring he plays “off adrenaline” and “goes 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,” he said. “But as a winger, to be honest, I come off most games. It’s normal [for wingers]. Obviously that substitution was different but in that moment probably yeah, but in general as a winger I expect it a lot of the time.”
According to Gordon, the manner of England’s 3-2 last-16 win over Mexico at the Azteca Stadium – where they played with 10 men for over 35 minutes after Jarell Quansah’s red card – was a factor in the players’ thinking when trying to get over the line against Argentina. He also suggested the team did not match the performances they were producing in training. If they had, he said, they “would have dominated everyone”. He defended Tuchel’s “more safe and more defensive” tactics, which sparked external criticism and in-camp disappointment. “We shouldn’t try and blame one man who’s obviously trying his best and trying to win the cup for us all,” Gordon said. “As players, we could have done more to take the initiative to control the [Argentina] game. I think if we do that the manager doesn’t make the decision [to use a back five]. For me, we had the best team, we had the best players on the pitch 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 from the sideline, so I think as a group everyone together should take responsibility.”
Spain’s particular style will test England again at Wembley this weekend, with the hosts looking to find a response – but perhaps not by copying their opponents.