Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon has finally taken to the pitch for England at Euro 2024 as the Three Lions limped to a 0-0 draw with Slovenia.
The Magpies star made the Three Lions squad for the tournament after a truly outstanding campaign for his club.
Gordon registered 11 goals and 10 assists from 35 Premier League outings for Newcastle, highlighting his credentials as one of England’s best young talents.
The 23-year-old was a worthy pick for the Three Lions squad for Euro 2024, but he remained an unused substitute in their first two games.
On Tuesday, England faced Slovenia in their final Group C game. Gareth Southgate’s charges had already qualified, but were looking to clinch top spot.
England played out a stalemate in Cologne, though in the end it was enough to secure first place in the group with five points.
Gordon came on as a late substitute for Phil Foden and, though there wasn’t much time for him to make a major impact, he showed glimpses of his quality.
Indeed, Jamie O’Hara loved what he saw from the Newcastle ace, singing his praises on talkSPORT (25/6/2024, 9:55pm).
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Jamie O’Hara wants Newcastle ace Anthony Gordon to play more for England
“Anthony Gordon has got to play,” he said. “Sorry, Anthony Gordon has got to play.
“He brought him on in the 89th minute, with four minutes of injury time. He gave the lad five minutes.
“The game was crying out for someone on the left to get to the byline. Anthony Gordon comes on and plays two brilliant passes.”
As per Statman Dave, Gordon created more chances in his cameo than Bukayo Saka, Conor Gallagher and Jude Bellingham combined.
Pundits want more England game time for Gordon
O’Hara is far from the only pundit to have called for more game time for the Newcastle ace in recent days.
For instance, Jamie Carragher said after the Denmark game that it was disappointing not to see Gordon feature.
Meanwhile, Alan Shearer admitted on BBC One (20/6/2024, 20:04) that he would have played Gordon in order to help Harry Kane out.
England might have finished top of the group, but there’s a lot of work to do ahead of the knockouts, with team selection surely up for debate.
In that case, Gordon would surely be a shoo-in to provide more creativity.