Newcastle United fans, and indeed England fans, commentators and pundits got their wish as Anthony Gordon got on the pitch for England tonight.
Unfortunately, though, he came on in the 89th minute with just four minutes added on.
He still managed to create England's best chance of the game playing a stunning through ball to Harry Kane who flicked it on to Cole Palmer who couldn't get the connection the move deserved to finish it off.
Incidentally, Palmer was England's best player in the second half after coming on shortly after the restart with Kobbie Mainoo replacing Conor Gallagher at half time.
It was 94 minutes of sheer agony for England fans though as Gareth Southgate's negative tactics stifled any creativity again with so many balls played backwards rather than trying anything to create an actual opportunity.
A 0-0 draw in both of Group C's games saw England top the group with five points and avoid the dangerous-looking side of the knockout draw, but with performances like that, it really doesn't matter who we draw against next, we're going to struggle.
The Trent Alexander-Arnold experiment failed and it took 45 minutes for Southgate to come to terms with the fact that Conor Gallagher is not the answer, but does that mean he's learned from his mistakes? We'll find out on Sunday but we doubt it.
The three England newbies in Mainoo, Palmer and Gordon were the most creative players on the pitch and everyone can see that they are probably the answer to England's lack of goals, but we honestly just don't see Southgate admitting it.
As someone with ADHD, nothing can stop me from doing something I was going to do quicker than somebody asking/telling me to do it, and I feel that's exactly what's happening with Southgate and making the obvious selection.
It's like he doesn't want to do it because then it won't be seen as his decision so he'd rather do things a way he knows isn't working because it gives him that sense of control he needs. Not exactly the trait you want in a football manager, is it?
Well, we go again on Sunday. I'm making sure I have plenty of strong coffee on hand.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Liverpool
|
13 | 18 | 34 |
2 |
Arsenal
|
13 | 12 | 25 |
3 |
Chelsea
|
13 | 12 | 25 |
4 |
Brighton
|
13 | 5 | 23 |
5 |
Manchester City
|
13 | 3 | 23 |
6 |
Nottingham Forest
|
13 | 3 | 22 |
7 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
13 | 14 | 20 |
8 |
Brentford
|
13 | 3 | 20 |
9 |
Manchester United
|
13 | 4 | 19 |
10 |
Fulham
|
13 | 0 | 19 |
11 |
Newcastle United
|
13 | 0 | 19 |
12 |
Aston Villa
|
13 | -3 | 19 |
13 |
Bournemouth
|
13 | 1 | 18 |
14 |
West Ham United
|
13 | -7 | 15 |
15 |
Everton
|
13 | -11 | 11 |
16 |
Leicester
|
13 | -11 | 10 |
17 |
Crystal Palace
|
13 | -7 | 9 |
18 |
Wolves
|
13 | -10 | 9 |
19 |
Ipswich
|
13 | -11 | 9 |
20 |
Southampton
|
13 | -15 | 5 |