Anthony Gordon has publicly echoed Thomas Tuchel's assessment that the English national side lacks a natural instinct for dominating possession, urging the team to lean into the attributes that have traditionally defined English football. The conversation stems from the criticism Tuchel faced after England adopted a defensive posture following Gordon's goal, which gave England a lead against Argentina in the World Cup semi‑final. That cautious approach ultimately allowed Argentina to claw back into the game and ultimately win in the closing minutes.
Tuchel responded to the backlash by commenting on what he described as the "DNA" of English players. He argued that, unlike the Spanish or South American contingents, English footballers are not innately wired to keep the ball and dictate the tempo of a match. "I think ball possession plays a crucial role; it's maybe not in our DNA like it is in Spanish DNA or in Argentine‑Brazilian DNA, to take the ball and control the game with the ball," he said during a post‑match interview.
His remarks were made even more striking given that several of England's most technically gifted players—Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Trent Alexander‑Arnold—were omitted from his World Cup squad, and promising midfielder Kobbie Mainoo never saw a minute of action throughout the tournament. Yet, ahead of England's Nations League opener against reigning world champions Spain, Gordon stood firmly behind his manager's viewpoint. "England, as a nation, we don't have that strength, like the Spanish, where we control games like they do," Gordon told reporters at St George's Park, a training complex designed to nurture young English talent in a style inspired by continental powers such as Spain. The venue had previously been used by former FA chief football officer Dan Ashworth to outline the concept of an "England DNA," a notion that now appears at odds with Tuchel's comments.
Having moved to Barcelona and spent several seasons in La Liga, Gordon is uniquely positioned to compare the two footballing cultures. He reflected, "I'm not sure it's something that can be taught. Playing in Spain, I can speak with an educated view on the way they keep the ball; it's much different than I've ever experienced playing in this country.
I'm not sure we can ever get that, but we can definitely get better, or maybe go the other way and really play to our strengths, which is to play physical, play direct football, and on the counter‑attack." Gordon admitted that England's performances in the tournament often fell short of the level shown in training. "I felt we weren't performing in the matches like we did in training because if we did, we would have dominated everyone, which wasn't the case.
Every match was quite close. Even in the Norway game, I didn't feel like they were really at our level. We could have dominated that game, but for some reason we just didn't do it," he said. He went on to explain why Tuchel may have opted for a more conservative, defensive setup against Argentina: "It makes a lot of sense to me why the manager would then go more safe and more defensive and really tune into what got us through the previous two rounds in that moment.
It might not to other people, but it does to me being a part of the group." Gordon also addressed the tendency to scapegoat managers when results falter. "I think everyone likes to blame the manager because that's football. Managers always take responsibility. But in my opinion, one person shouldn't be responsible for a million different decisions that are happening at one time.
For me, we had the best team, we had the best players on the pitch in that semi‑final and in the last 20 minutes we didn't play the best football. That's something the manager can't really affect from the sideline. Everyone together should take responsibility," he asserted. Earlier in the tournament, Tuchel hinted that England might need to "embrace the chaos" of a more adventurous style.
Gordon believes that lesson could shape future tactics: "Now that we've had that experience, probably the next time we're in that position, we'll go the other way. That scar doesn't have to be a negative one, because it might lead us to victory in the next tournaments." When asked to delineate the contrast between Spanish and English players, Gordon noted, "We, as English players, are educated the same way as the Spanish players. We know how to keep possession, but it's the decision‑making of certain players in Spain which is just not a natural thing for English players. I even look at some of the decisions they take on the ball sometimes and think, 'I'm not sure how you've seen that.' It's the way they're built." He cautioned against trying to imitate other nations wholesale.
"It's important for us that we can't keep looking at other countries and trying to be like them, because we're not them, we're English and we have our own strengths, which they don't have. So maybe we start playing to what we're good at," he concluded.
Gordon also reflected on England's gritty 10‑man victory over Mexico at the Estadio Azteca, describing it as a defining moment that shaped the team's mentality in the later stages. "The Mexico game was by far the best experience I've ever had in my life.
But I think that probably set us up in a way. The red card made us show a different side of us. We weren't so much the team that wanted to play anymore, we needed to really fight to get the victory, which we did. Then that probably became our MO a bit too much for the next two games, and ultimately didn't work for us in the semi‑final," he explained.
Speaking about his own performance after scoring, Gordon admitted, "I was, to be totally honest, only because I'd just scored. I'm really good when I play off adrenaline and when I score I normally don't have many bad games because I get into an untouchable mode of confidence. It makes me feel on top of the world, especially in that moment, on that stage.
I felt really good." Despite the disappointment, Gordon remains confident in the quality of the England squad and believes they could have challenged Spain had they reached the final. "I felt so confident. I felt like if we would have got to the final, I would have felt so confident playing Spain, that we would come out victorious, but we just didn't get there, so we'll never know," he said.
Looking ahead to the upcoming Nations League clash at Wembley, Gordon stressed the importance of motivation and belief. "If we can't be motivated to show what we can do at this level, then we're never going to be.
Spain are an incredible team. I spoke with the guys at Barca and said 'how would they have felt if we got to the final instead of Argentina?' They'd seen us as really competitive.
It would have been a much more competitive game, because I felt Spain dominated the final. So maybe we can show that.
We can show them how good we are. It won't replicate the final but playing against the best team in the world and winning and playing well, that'll do for now." England will take the field against Spain on Saturday at 7.45 pm, hoping to demonstrate the blend of physicality, directness and tactical discipline that Gordon believes are the true hallmarks of the nation's footballing DNA.