Newcastle forward Anthony Gordon ready to grasp the opportunity that now lies in front of Magpies during demanding run-in
Thomas Tuchel, head coach of England, looks on towards Anthony Gordon
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Anthony Gordon admits he is feeling refreshed after a favour to both him and Newcastle United by England boss Thomas Tuchel.
The Three Lions boss split his pre-World Cup squad into two groups, offering players like Gordon and Dan Burn an extra rest period before joining up with the squad last Friday. The pair also sat out of the 1-1 draw with Uruguay at Wembley but were put through their paces in the defeat against Japan.
As Gordon prepared to hook up with his Newcastle team-mates, with hard work now under way to face Crystal Palace later this month, he spoke of his relief at getting a break from what has been a relentless schedule for the Magpies.
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Gordon told reporters last night: "I can't remember the last days off I had, with the Champions League and the cups. We had quite long cup runs so I definitely needed the days off, so I am very grateful to the manager.
"I don't like to miss any caps. Getting England caps means the world to me. So missing the first game was obviously quite difficult but you've got to see the bigger picture.
"He is very, very smart and very, very intelligent the manager. He thought that was what was best."
Gordon now turns his attention back to club action and trying to get Newcastle over the line and back into Europe in the run-in. That is very much in the balance now for the black and whites and the truth is they can't afford a bad run or any slip-ups.
The Magpies may have to win five of their last seven matches to book their Euro tickets in either the Europa League of Europa Conference League.
But Gordon is confident and said: "I think we can get in mathematically. We are out of the Champions League and cups. We've got free weeks to train which is usually how we do best. Hopefully we can push on."
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