Ever since the Premier league 23/24 season has finished, Anthony Gordon has been in the limelight. Mostly it was because of his transfer news or his amazing debut season at Newcastle United. Although, this time it’s because of his role in the England squad at the Euros 2024.
Gareth Southgate showed his trust in the young winger as he included him in the travelling squad for the Euros. However, now it seems like Southgate was only taking Gordon just for the sake of it and not actually utilizing him.
England had been on the receiving end of scrutiny and criticism even though they are in the semifinals. They have only secured one victory in 5 matches in the normal time (90+injury time). Furthermore, there has been a huge contrast in the quality of the squad member and the actual football they are playing.
The quality filled squad of England
The English squad for the EUROs 2024 included:
Goalkeeper: Dean Henderson, Jordan Pickford, Aaron Ramsdale
defenders: Lewis Dunk, Joe Gomez, Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa, Luke Shaw, John Stones, Kieran Trippier, Kyle Walker
midfielders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Kobbie Mainoo, Declan Rice, Adam Wharton
Forwards: Jarrod Bowen, Eberechi Eze, Phil Foden, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane, Cole Palmer, Bukayo Saka, Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins.
The unfair treatment of Anthony Gordon
The three lions have one of the best squad quality wise in the EUROs and there were a lot of expectations from them. Even though they have managed to secure a spot in the Semi Finals against Netherlands, the quality of football has rather been disappointing.
Despite having a quality and a threating attacking department, Gareth Southgate decided to go with a defensive approach in the games. Playing the likes of Bukayo Saka at the left-back, Trent in the midfield were some questionable decisions by the manager.
The thing that he has been most criticized of is not utilizing the squad players available in the team. One of the names that has not been utilized by the coach is Anthony Gordon. Gordon has had an impressive debut season with Newcastle United. He scored 12 goals and provided 11 assists across all the competitions. His performance has brought him into the limelight and even Liverpool are interested to sign the player.
When England announced the squad, the most anticipating part was the inclusion of Anthony Gordon. However, Gareth Southgate has decided against the idea of using him. Gordon only got one chance on the pitch when he was subbed on in the 89th minute against Slovenia.
England vs Netherlands: the preview
The interesting factor is that England are struggling to create any attacking threat and there are hardly any chances created on the left side of the play. Furthermore, that is the area of Gordon’s on the pitch. England have somehow managed to scrape through to the Semifinals Although if they want to progress to the finals, they need to beat the tricky defense and the threatening attack of the Netherlands.
The Dutch have one of the trickiest defenses and also the most inform attacker Cody Gapko in the squad. They would go out with all force against England in the semifinals and England need to unleash their attacking threat to counter Netherlands.
Gareth Southgate need to change his tactics and go with a pragmatic approach against the Dutch. They are the most threatening opponent that they are going to face till now and the defensive approach will not work against them. The English manager needs to trust players like Anthony Gordon and rely on the player’s potential to deliver for the country.
We surely going to have an interesting semifinal but it can be very one sided and finished very early if England decides to play like how they have been playing throughout the tournament.
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