‘I KNOW THAT MY DAD WILL BE ROOTING FOR THE STATES TONIGHT...’

ANTHONY Hudson, the son of Stoke City legend Alan Hudson, will be on the touchline trying to stop England at the World Cup. The well-travelled 41-yearold is now assistant coach of the United States team at Qatar and will go head to head with England in the second group game tonight (7pm).

It will inevitably bring up memories of his dad’s England career, including an exceptional debut against West Germany while he was in his Stoke pomp, but also the fact that it was all-too brief. Don Revie was not a fan of mavericks like Hudson and one of the most talented players of his generation ended up with only two caps.

Hudson Jr said: “Honestly, it was one of the best debuts I’ve ever seen. “West Germany were the world champions at the time.

“I can still hear the commentator saying, ‘And it’s Hudson, it’s Hudson again...’ He ran the show. “There was one moment when he put his foot on the ball, stood there and told one of the West German players to come towards him.

“To have your dad do that in a game like that was pretty special.”

He added: “Maybe, because of that, it would be nice to get one over them.”

“When the draw happened and I called home, my brother and my mum and my dad were going crazy. It was really nice. I know he’ll be rooting for the States too.

“I actually feel quite American. My dad played here (for Seattle Sounders), I was born here, and my dad always spoke about how much he loved his time here.

“So I grew up feeling a strong connection to America.”

Hudson Jr was a junior footballer himself at West Ham, then at a senior level for Luton Town, NEC Nijmegen and Wilmington Hammerheads, but his main career has really been in coaching, a path that has taken in Tottenham Hotspur reserves, Newport County, Bahrain, New Zealand and Colorado Rapids.

He became USA under20s coach in 2020 and assistant manager to Gregg Berhalter with the senior team a year later. He has also restored his relationship with his dad, adding: “The last 10 or 15 years has been a process of growing up and maturing for both of us.

“When I was in Colorado, he came out and stayed with me, came to see a couple of training sessions and team meetings. That was nice. I’d never had that.”

The USA drew their opening game, 1-1 with Wales, while England hammered Iran 6-2.

The USA had taken a firsthalf lead against Wales, but were pegged back late in the second half when Gareth Bale slotted home a penalty to earn Rob Page’s side a share of the spoils. The third group games will take place on Tuesday (7pm).

Hudson Sr responded to his son’s interview on social media with the simple message: “That’s my boy.”