England Should Embrace Own Style, Not Mimic Spain, Says Gordon

Anthony Gordon, currently playing for Barcelona, believes England lacks the technical capacity to emulate the possession-focused style of world champions Spain. He argues that England should instead focus on its own strengths and identity in football, rather than trying to copy other nations.

Gordon, who moved to Barcelona from Newcastle for £70 million, now shares a locker room with eight members of Spain's World Cup-winning squad. This experience, he stated, provides him with a unique perspective.

"England as a nation, we don't have that strength like the Spanish, where we control games like they do," Gordon said. "It's not in us, I'm not sure it's something that can be taught. I think playing in Spain, I can speak with an educated view, and the way they keep the ball is different. It's much different than I've ever experienced playing in this country. I'm not sure we can ever get that."

Gordon also defended England manager Thomas Tuchel, who faced criticism after the team's World Cup semi-final exit. Tuchel had commented that possession-based football is not within England's "DNA," a sentiment Gordon echoed.

"I've only realised it to that extent from playing in Spain now, because I think we as English players are educated the same way as the Spanish players. We know how to keep possession, but it's the decision-making of certain players in Spain which just isn’t a natural thing (to us)," Gordon explained. "It's the way they're built; I don't know what it is, something that maybe we can't ever put a name to. They’re definitely built differently."

Instead of seeking to replicate Spain, Gordon suggested England should embrace its own footballing identity. "Why try and make the (English) players the same as the Spanish players? Because the Spanish players lack the things that we have, and vice versa. I think we need to stop looking elsewhere as a country, and be proud of who we are, what we are, and the things we have, and stop comparing ourselves with other countries, because we're English. We're not Spanish or French, or other countries who have succeeded."

Gordon also suggested that English fans do not necessarily prefer a possession-heavy style.

"Playing against Premier League sides who try and play ultra football, tiki-taka football, I always feel like the fans don't appreciate it as much," he said. "I feel like English fans want to see the English game, and in Spain they appreciate the Spanish style. The fans in England, they love a kind of basketball game, they love an athletic game, a direct game."

Reflecting on the semi-final loss to Argentina, Gordon described the emotional toll of scoring the opening goal before the team conceded two late goals.

He also stated that he believed England would have presented a greater challenge to Spain in the final than Argentina did, despite their semi-final defeat.

Gordon further defended Tuchel, asserting that the squad, rather than the manager alone, should bear responsibility for the World Cup exit. "Everyone likes to blame the manager, because that's football. But in my opinion, one person shouldn't be responsible for a million different decisions that are happening at one time," he stated. "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. We shouldn't try to blame one man who's obviously trying his best to win the game and win the cup for us all."