From ‘season over’ to ‘on the plane’ as Gordon cashes in
ENGLAND careers have hinged on sliding-doors moments. Fortune, on the international stage, does not even itself out over a season. It strikes for better or worse and its legacy can be life-defining. Think Jimmy Greaves and Geoff Hurst.
Less than two weeks ago, there were fears that Anthony Gordon’s season could be over. Injuring his knee at Chelsea on a Monday night — Newcastle boss Eddie Howe said ‘it did not look good’ — he woke the next morning and, to his surprise, felt fine. Come Wednesday morning, same again — no swelling, no damage. The FA were informed and, come Thursday, he was in the England senior squad for the first time. Here, he started against Brazil.
If that non-injury was lucky then so, too, were the injuries to Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer this week. That is not a particularly kind way of looking at it, but when doors open you have to run on through. The challenge for Gordon was to make sure he closed it behind him.
The last player to make his full England debut versus Brazil was Nicky Shorey in 2007. The Reading left-back went on to win just one more cap. Gordon, on this evidence, will collect many more and his collection should start to grow this summer.
He was fast, purposeful, never wasteful and twice went close to scoring before half-time. At this stage, a goal as good as buys you an air ticket to Germany and he was again denied early in the second half. By now, three of England’s five shots belonged to the 23-year-old.
But it was his link-up with Jude Bellingham that would have caught Gareth Southgate’s eye. They were England’s most incisive pairing down the lefthand side. Only he and Phil Foden were on the same wavelength as the Real Madrid star, who was again his team’s best player. If Bellingham is a certainty for the finals, this is audition season for a handful of others. The London Marathon is four weeks away but, for the likes of Gordon, these four days in the same city represent a sprint. Thankfully, for him, he is good at running fast.
No player in this squad had moved quicker than Gordon in the Premier League this season and the pace to break a more pedestrian international arena is invaluable.
Ezri Konsa soon joined the race, making his debut as replacement for the injured Kyle Walker inside 20 minutes. Sliding doors, you see. The
Aston Villa defender was tasked with marking the one player on the pitch who is quicker than Gordon, Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior.
Konsa enhanced his claims for a place in Germany more than Ben Chilwell on the opposite flank. A lack of fit alternatives means Chilwell will be in the squad for the finals, but this was an error-stained performance to play his way out of the starting XI. Likewise, Chelsea teammate Conor Gallagher, who saw too much of the ball at times.
Ollie Watkins continues to look out of place in an England shirt and the one chance he did have — albeit a difficult one — was stabbed over the crossbar. It will likely be the turn of Ivan Toney to stake his claim back here against Belgium on Tuesday and the bar to be better is not particularly high.
It was, then, Gordon who did most to impress. He did not slam the door after him, but at least he moved the right side of it.