England 0-0 Ghana: Anthony Gordon played on the left ahead of Marcus Rashford, but did not feature in his second successive World Cup match.
England forward Anthony Gordon reacts to the match against Ghana at Boston Stadium
Anthony Gordon came into this World Cup with a lot of energy.
But so far he has looked like a shadow of the £69.3m wing whippet signed by Spanish giants Barcelona – against respectable and ordinary opponents.
Gordon could count himself lucky not to be one of the two casualties, given that manager Thomas Tuchel tweaked England’s starting XI, resulting in Croatia winning against a clean team in Texas.
However, this was a chance to atone for last Wednesday’s quiet and lukewarm performance, which unfortunately fell short.
Apart from the heartbreaking final game between England and Spain in Berlin, Gordon’s Euro 2024 was the most memorable. That’s because Gordon played just four minutes throughout the tournament, falling off his bike and grazing his jaw. Now, he should use those bad memories as fuel and move forward.
Tuchel’s intense half-time team talk in Dallas clearly resonated, but the focus was on getting England out of a bind.
The German is said to have told his players: “What’s the worst that can happen?” Because he wanted more intensity, energy, and belief.
The response from the players was outstanding, so it was very surprising to see Gordon (and he wasn’t the only one) play with such a clear lack of tempo against Ghana.
Gordon’s qualities, blistering speed, directness and ability to get to the byline and pull the ball back for other forwards are to die for.
In a soaking wet Orlando for the Three Lions’ final World Cup preparation match against Costa Rica, things finally seemed to be starting to click for the 25-year-old.
He provided a smart assist to Declan Rice and scored convincingly from the penalty spot.
No one could argue with his inclusion in Tuchel’s best line-up based on his frenetic performances, but now we could be witnessing a change of guard with Marcus Rashford chomping at the bit to start.
Ironically, at club level, Rashford has actually been left in limbo by his international teammate’s life-changing move to Catalonia.
FOXBOROUGH, MA – JUNE 23: Anthony Gordon of England during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group L match between England and Ghana at Boston Stadium in Foxboro, USA on June 23, 2026. (Photo by Mark Atkins/Getty Images)
Despite the Manchester United attacker scoring 28 points (14 goals, 14 assists) in all competitions, Barcelona were content to let their £26 million buy option expire.
This bodes well for England as Rashford is hungrier than ever and determined to make a point, scoring three times against Qatar and coming off the bench against Croatia and absolutely loves the World Cup stage.
Much of the pre-tournament discussion was shaped by who would feature from the left wing, but Gordon is yet to take the bull by the horns.
One of his best attributes, which Tuchel appreciates, is his ability to track back the ugly aspects of the game and help his full-backs.
However, just after half-time, he was asleep and allowed Ghana’s Marvin Senaya to ghost in the goal from wide.
His erratic individual performances don’t mean he no longer plays an important role, because he does, but perhaps it’s time to utilize the Liverpool-born starlet as one of Tuchel’s ‘finishers’.
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