FLASH GORDON
Winger goes from despair to joy in rapid change of fortune
ANTHONY GORDON has gone from fearing his season was finished to booking his summer ticket to Germany.
The Newcastle winger limped off at Chelsea in front of Gareth Southgate earlier this month, with his club boss Eddie Howe admitting his knee injury “doesn’t look good”.
But less than a fortnight later, he sprinted up the list of contenders for a place in the Euro 2024 squad with a composed Wembley debut against Brazil.
On a night when few others staked a strong claim, Gordon revealed he received instant praise from the Three Lions boss.
“He was saying, ‘Fantastic.’” said the Toon star.
“He was really pleased for me. I think he was happy with my performance which is always a good thing.
“Did he say I was on the plane? No! Hopefully he says that in a couple of months.
“I am pleased with my performance. But I’m quite hard on myself so I wanted to score and win. If I think like that, I can’t do myself any harm.
“I know I played well but I hope for more. I’ve got a taste now so I want more.”
Gordon speaks as well as he plays. And he smiled as he reflected on the last couple of weeks for club and country.
“It was chaotic,” he added. “When I came off at Chelsea, I didn’t know what was going to happen.
“Everything was up in the air.
“But I was really fortunate to miss out on any injury and I got to live the best day of my life.
“This is my longterm dream I have had. To achieve it means everything to me.
“I haven’t just envisioned it in the last couple of years, I have imagined it in the garden recreating Rooney and Gerrard’s goals – it’s just an amazing moment.
“It was not quite how I envisaged it.
I envisioned it a bit different with a win and a goal.
“But it’s still an amazing day for me, I relished every minute of it.”
Gordon (below) made his Premier League debut for Everton in January 2020 and gained Champions League experience for Newcastle this season.
The Liverpudlian, who forced a second-half save from Brazil keeper Bento, certainly did not look overawed in his first England appearance – helped by a “bona fide superstar”. He explained: “I feel like I’ve got quite a good system to deal with pressure.
“I’ve got good people around me, I just try to stay level-headed and focus on the game. “Block out all the other stuff and it doesn’t really matter if you’re just focused on the game. “If anyone was going to feel the pressure it would’ve been me. “But they (my team-mates) helped me with that and have done all camp. I think we’ve got a very good team. I’ve loved being around Jude Bellingham. He’s a bona fide superstar in every way.
“The way he carries himself, he’s helped me loads since I’ve come in on and off the pitch. To play with him is great.”
Even after one international match, Gordon could identify a major problem with the Three Lions missing Harry Kane.
“I thought we were the better team but we lacked that cutting edge,” he said. We need more killer instinct.”
Gordon was also asked about a strong finish to his Newcastle season to push home his England claim.
“I’m not even thinking that far ahead,” he added. “I’ve still got so much to do in this camp. I want to play as many games for England as I possibly can.
“You can never truly be in this England squad with the talent around you.
“I haven’t shown them what I can do to a full extent.”