Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon staked his England claim to Thomas Tuchel against Serbia on Tuesday night.
The 24-year-old was part of the England team that hammered Serbia 5-0, with Anthony Gordon starting on the left of a front three that included Harry Kane and Noni Madueke.
The Newcastle United winger is hoping to go to the World Cup in 2026, having spent most of Euro 2024 sitting on the bench for Gareth Southgate’s side. That is despite the fact that England were crying out for a player with his direct pace.
Tuchel is attempting to change that, ensuring that the ageing legs of Harry Kane have speed surrounding him.
Gordon offered that in Belgrade, much to the delight of Micah Richards.
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty ImagesAnthony Gordon produces ‘outstanding’ performance for England
Speaking on the latest episode of the Rest Is Football podcast, Richards reflected on the impact of England’s attack against Serbia alongside Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer.
The ex-Manchester City defender noted that Kane needs ‘willing runners’ next to him, before turning his attention to Gordon’s performance.
“When you’ve got willing runners ahead of you, it works,” he said.
Lineker: “Did we ever say that in the Euros? I can’t remember. Only about a million times!”
Richards added: “I just thought Gordon was outstanding. Rogers was brilliant.”
Interestingly, Gordon was also called ‘outstanding’ by former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson. It says a lot about how well the Scouser played, as the likes of Madueke, Rogers and Elliot Anderson produced much more headline-grabbing performances.
When did Anthony Gordon last score a goal?
While Gordon has been praised for his performance against Serbia, his current run of form in front of goal is concerning.
He failed to score any of England’s five goals on Tuesday night, despite having three shots on target. Gordon has only scored once for his country, with his single international strike coming in a Nations League victory over Republic of Ireland in November 2024.
In truth, 2025 has been a challenging year for Gordon, particularly when it comes to scoring goals.
Since the start of 2025, Gordon has scored five goals. However, they all came right at the beginning of the year, with his most recent strike coming in February when Newcastle beat Arsenal in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg.
Since then, Gordon has played 17 times without finding the net for the Magpies or England.