Wayne Rooney has given his verdict on whether Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon should start for England on Sunday.
The Three Lions kick off their Euro 2024 campaign against Serbia, with two Newcastle United players hoping to be in Gareth Southgate’s starting lineup.
Kieran Trippier looks nailed on to start, with the 33-year-old set to be required at left-back amid Luke Shaw’s injury.
However, Gordon‘s status is not quite as clear. He is set for his first ever international tournament, on the back of what was the best season of his career. The 23-year-old was arguably Newcastle’s best player, and will hope to take his club form to the international stage.
Gordon showed signs of doing just that on Friday, with the winger proving to be England’s biggest threat during what was a disappointing defeat to Iceland.
Wayne Rooney wants ‘different’ Anthony Gordon to start for England
We have already seen Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer back Gordon to start for England, and that is a sentiment shared by former Three Lions captain Wayne Rooney.
He has discussed who he thinks should start for England on The Overlap YouTube channel, opting to deploy Gordon on the left of attack, with Phil Foden operating centrally rather than out wide.
Rooney was then asked by Gary Neville why he wants Gordon to start.
“He’s different,” he said.
“Saka does as well but maybe not as much as Gordon – he runs off the ball, he runs in behind, he takes the ball and commits players. He will hold the width. We’ve seen him do it for Newcastle. He’ll keep the width which allows more space for these players [such as Foden].
“Eze likes to come inside, Palmer could play there, but their biggest strengths are coming inside.
“He’s the one player who will hold the width and make it difficult. If teams sit back, you need width. You need to keep moving it from side to side to create opportunities.”
Why the Newcastle United winger might miss out against Serbia
As Rooney says, England need an out-and-out winger. That is exactly what Gordon is. He is capable of going both ways, and will absolutely keep his width.
However, it would currently be a surprise if he were to start against Serbia on Sunday.
That is because of a report claiming that Trent Alexander-Arnold is expected to start in midfield alongside Declan Rice. Combine that with the fact that there is no way Jude Bellingham will not start, and that means Southgate will be forced to play Phil Foden out wide.
Unless the England boss chooses to play Foden on the right and Gordon on the left, it feels likely that the Newcastle winger could miss out on a place in the starting XI to the 24-year-old.
Alternatively, Southgate could opt to leave Foden out, but that would be a highly controversial decision.
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