Anthony Gordon receives fresh hope of England start as Phil Foden returns home

 · June 26 2024, 17:03
Anthony Gordon receives fresh hope of England start as Phil Foden returns home
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After an impressive and far-too-brief cameo in England's 0-0 draw with Slovenia last night, Anthony Gordon will be hoping for more minutes as the Three Lions progress to the knockout stages of Euro 2024 as group winners.

Group C has been by far the most boring group at this summer's European Championships with fewer goals being scored in the entire group than Germany have scored alone. With one win and two draws, England topped the group and will continue in the tournament on Sunday with their opposition yet to be confirmed.

Last night's game was absolutely dire with England unable to do anything with their 74% possession, which is understandable when you consider that so many passes were played sideways or backwards.

The Three Lions managed just four shots on target of their 12 attempts, and I'm sure I can't remember 11 of those attempts.

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Anthony Gordon should replace Phil Foden on Sunday

Anthony Gordon did more in 5 minutes than Jude Bellingham has done since he scored in game one

It wasn't until Anthony Gordon's 89th-minute introduction that we saw any real determined forward play with his stunning through ball setting up a chance for Cole Palmer.

After the game, Gordon received praise from England captain Harry Kane for his impact and fans and pundits all had a huge "I told you so" moment after shouting about bringing Gordon into the games since before the tournament even got underway.

Today has brought news that Phil Foden has returned to England to take care of a family matter which many believe may have opened the door for Anthony Gordon to start on Sunday.

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We still expect Foden to start on Sunday

However, it is believed that Foden will return to the England camp on Sunday and if that's the case we wouldn't be at all surprised to see him in the starting lineup at 5pm, even if he only lands in Germany at 4pm.

After being given around half an hour yesterday, we also suspect that Cole Palmer is ahead of Gordon in the pecking order, and we know how Gareth Southgate doesn't like to stray too far from his one and only plan, we can see Palmer getting the nod ahead of Gordon.

As well as Palmer played, he had much longer to try and make an impact than Gordon did, and you could argue that Gordon did more from an attacking point of view in the five minutes he was on the pitch than pretty much any other player in White last night.

If anyone has earned a chance to show what they can do, it's Gordon, but we'll not hold our breath.

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