Newcastle United star Anthony Gordon endured a frustrating night for England.
Making his return to the pitch after missing Newcastle United’s win in the Carabao Cup final through suspension, Gordon came on in the 74th-minute as England began life under Thomas Tuchel with a 2-0 win over Albania.
Dan Burn made his England debut at Wembley less than a week after scoring against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup, helping his club a 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy.
Such has been the fairytale nature of the past few days, Burn was close to scoring on his England debut with a powerful first-half header.
Still, the night wasn’t so positive for Gordon. Perhaps somewhat rusty after missing the last two games following the red card he was shown against Brighton in the FA Cup, Tuchel did not sound overly impressed with the contribution of his wide players.
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Thomas Tuchel reacts to Anthony Gordon’s brief England cameo
As is often the case with England during World Cup qualifiers they are expected to win anyway, the Three Lions laboured for much of the evening.
Though rarely looking in danger of actually losing the game, it was hardly a swashbuckling attacking performance.
Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford started on the right and left wing respectively before being replaced by Jarrod Bowen and Gordon.
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Asked about the contribution from all of his wide players, Tuchel admitted he was hoping for more.
“We hope for more impact from these positions,” he said.
“I hope to see more dribbles, less passing and more aggressive runs towards the box. This was missing and all the chances came from little diagonal runs behind the lines.”
Anthony Gordon injury latest as Newcastle face scare
The winger is suspended for Newcastle’s Premier League clash against Brentford after the international break anyway but Eddie Howe has been dealt a perhaps longer-term concern.
Gordon was spotted limping while leaving Wembley having required treatment on what Tuchel has confirmed is a hip injury.
The severity of the issue remains to be seen but it is hardly helpful in the context of the season. Newcastle are chasing Champions League qualification and the idea of missing Gordon for any great deal of time is a serious worry.
Harvey Barnes impressed against Liverpool and will need to be primed and ready for the run-in.