A lot was said about Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon and Manchester City star Phil Foden during Euro 2024.
They were expected to be key players for England, as Gareth Southgate aimed to bring football home. Anthony Gordon was on the back of the best season of his career for Newcastle United, while Phil Foden won the Premier League Player of the Season award.
The issue for Southgate was fitting them in his starting XI, which proved to be difficult. He asked Foden to play on the left of attack, while Gordon sat on the bench. The 23-year-old only made one appearance for England at the Euros, as the Three Lions lost in the final to Spain.
After the tournament, Gordon said he was disappointed about not playing much.
Phil Foden shares Anthony Gordon frustration after Euro 2024
Meanwhile, Foden has now admitted that he was disappointed too. The 24-year-old has spoken to the Manchester Evening News about what happened at the Euros, admitting that it was difficult to play on the left after doing so well centrally for his club.
“I feel frustrated I didn’t get out what I wanted to get out of it,” he said.
“The position I was put in on the left was very difficult to influence the game.
“Coming off last season being the best player in the Premier League and playing centre-midfield, I do feel the position was quite difficult to get used to. I’m one who can play multiple positions and had to try to deal with it the best I could. I don’t feel like England ever get going or performed to our potential.”
Anthony Gordon has now established himself for England
For Gordon, there were clearly issues behind the scenes in Germany. Southgate was not happy about Gordon falling off his bike whilst on his phone, while his comments about making England more unpredictable did not go down well either.
But now Southgate has gone, and Gordon has established himself on the international stage. He was a key player during Lee Carsley’s reign, and you would imagine that Thomas Tuchel will be keen to include the Magpies’ number 10.
That is because Tuchel wanted Gordon at Chelsea, while he is also playing incredibly well in a black and white shirt right now. He currently has eight goals and six assists to his name this season, having provided his latest contribution in Newcastle’s win over Southampton as he set up Sandro Tonali.
As England enter a new era, Tuchel will need to ensure he gets the best out of his major stars. He will need to work out how to get Gordon, Foden, Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka in the same team, which is something Southgate was unable to do.
He put square pegs in round holes, much to the frustration of Foden and Gordon. Tuchel must not make the same mistake.
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