Anthony Gordon has recovered from a poor start to the World Cup to play a key role for England in the knockout stage. The England winger, who completed a £60.7m transfer to Barcelona from Newcastle at the end of May, is now preparing for Saturday's World Cup quarter-final against Norway in Miami.
Azteca triumph and mind games
In the last-16 match against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium, Gordon experienced a memorable moment when Mexico manager Javier Aguirre shouted “Fuck you” at him as a joke. “I remember it,” Gordon says. “It was a bit of fun. I’d just run the full-back down the line so it was a bit of a compliment from him. That’s how I took it, anyway. He was talking to me and Jude throughout the game. There was a lot of tension, so to speak, to me and Jude … I quite liked it.”
Gordon was involved in the move for Jude Bellingham’s second goal and won the critical penalty for Harry Kane to make it 3-1 shortly after England lost Jarell Quansah to a red card. England won 3-2, a triumph over adversity including Mexico's intimidating record at the Azteca, the home crowd, and high altitude.
Overcoming early World Cup struggles
The World Cup started badly for Gordon. He barely saw the ball in England’s opening 4-2 win against Croatia and was poor in the subsequent stalemate with Ghana. He was dropped for game three against Panama, with Marcus Rashford coming in. However, in the last 32 against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gordon replaced Rashford in the 61st minute with England trailing 1-0 and provided two assists for Kane in the 2-1 victory.
“The reason I’ll always do well is because my mentality towards disappointment is very good,” Gordon says. “The first two games didn’t go how I dreamt of starting in a World Cup at all. But when I’m called upon against Congo, I reacted very well.”
Personal background and self-improvement
Gordon traces his drive to his upbringing in Liverpool. “I was born in Norris Green in Liverpool and then moved to Walton,” he says. “Both are very poor areas, a lot of things going wrong, but there are things going wrong everywhere. It made me who I am. It created a very strong character and fire in me to get out of that area and want better for my family.”
His thirst for self-improvement is evident: he answered questions in Spanish during his Barcelona presentation. “My drive … that is all we have,” he says. “We play football and we kid ourselves that we play to win. We want to win, of course. But we want to see who we can become. I have always been very intrigued to see who I can become, mentally.”
Altitude and mental strength
Gordon downplays the physical challenge of altitude at the Azteca. “There was so much talk about the altitude and I had to put that to bed and show it’s not physical, it’s mental,” he says. “I said to the lads as soon as Jarell was sent off that it will be even sweeter when we win. Because I had a feeling. I just knew. I could feel it within the group. And I was right.”
Thomas Tuchel's influence
Gordon describes England manager Thomas Tuchel as a “very spiritual” person and an “unbelievable motivator” who uses different sports and quotations. “Everything is about the higher purpose with him,” Gordon says. “It’s not about individuals. It’s us killing our egos and putting ourselves beneath the end goal.”
Gordon also spoke about his England rival Marcus Rashford, who was released back to Manchester United after a season on loan at Barcelona. “Yes, as soon as he saw me,” Gordon says when asked if Rashford congratulated him on the move. “I’m trying to look for a house and he has helped me with things about the club, which has been really helpful.”
Looking ahead to Norway
Gordon emphasizes the need to focus on the process ahead of the quarter-final against Norway. “It’s a massive opportunity,” he says. “And the way you do anything is really important. We need to focus on how we play, how we train. That has got us to where we are. The minute we start looking at the outcome, the trophy, the medals, all the superficial stuff, is when we will fall off track. We need to really focus on the process.”
