Anthony Gordon has publicly supported Thomas Tuchel's assessment that England’s footballers lack an innate knack for dominating matches through possession, and he has urged the national side to lean into the attributes that have traditionally defined English football. The criticism of Tuchel’s tactical shift came after England’s defensive posture in the World Cup semi‑final against Argentina, where a goal from Gordon gave the Three Lions a brief lead before the opposition turned the tide in the closing stages. Observers blamed the decision to sit back, arguing it handed Argentina the space they needed to claw back into the game. In response, Tuchel pointed to what he described as the "DNA" of English players.
"I think ball possession is crucial, but it’s perhaps not in our DNA the way it is for Spanish or Argentine‑Brazilian players, who instinctively take the ball and try to control the entire match," he explained. His comments were made even more striking because several of England’s most technically gifted talents – Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Trent Alexander‑Arnold – were omitted from the World Cup squad, and promising midfielder Kobbie Mainoo never saw a minute on the pitch throughout the tournament. Ahead of England’s Nations League opener against reigning world champions Spain, Gordon reiterated his manager’s viewpoint. "England, as a nation, don’t have that strength – we don’t control games the way the Spanish do," he told reporters at a press conference.
"It’s simply not in us." The press conference took place at St George’s Park, the England national training centre that was built to nurture young players in a more technical, possession‑oriented style inspired by the likes of Spain. Former FA chief football officer Dan Ashworth had earlier coined the term "England DNA" to describe the country’s footballing identity, an ironic backdrop to Tuchel’s remarks about a lack of such DNA. Now plying his trade for Barcelona in La Liga, Gordon has lived through the very system that England hopes to emulate.
He grew up within the English youth set‑up, excelled in the country’s successful junior squads, and later moved to Spain to experience a different football culture. "I’m not sure it’s something that can be taught," he admitted. "Playing in Spain, I have a more educated view of how they keep the ball.
It’s a completely different approach to what I experienced back home." Gordon suggested that rather than trying to copy the Spanish model, England might be better served by capitalising on its own traditional strengths – physicality, directness and swift counter‑attacks. "I’m not sure we’ll ever become a possession‑heavy side, but we can certainly improve, or perhaps we should embrace what we’re naturally good at: playing a physical, direct game and hitting opponents on the break," he said. He reflected on England’s performances in the tournament, noting a disconnect between training sessions and match reality. "In training we dominated, but on the pitch we struggled to impose ourselves.
Even against Norway, I felt we could have been the superior side, yet we never translated that into a convincing win. That’s why Tuchel opted for a more cautious, defensive setup against Argentina – he was reacting to the lack of control we displayed," Gordon explained. Gordon also criticised the tendency to place the entire blame for tactical decisions on the manager.
"People love to point fingers at the coach, but football is a collective effort. No single person should bear the weight of every decision made on the field.
In the semi‑final we had the best players, but in the last twenty minutes we didn’t produce the quality we were capable of. That’s not something a manager can fix from the sidelines; it’s a responsibility shared by the whole group," he argued. Tuchel, after the World Cup, hinted that England might need to "embrace the chaos" rather than cling to a rigid style. Gordon agreed that the painful semi‑final loss could become a valuable lesson.
"Having lived through that experience, I think the next time we find ourselves in a similar position we’ll choose a different approach. The scar from this tournament doesn’t have to be a negative one – it could be the catalyst for future triumphs," he said. When asked to compare English and Spanish players, Gordon highlighted the educational differences in decision‑making. "We are taught the same fundamentals as the Spanish, we know how to keep the ball, but the instinctive choices they make on the ball aren’t natural for us.
Sometimes I watch a Spanish player’s decision and think, ‘how did they even see that option?’ It’s a matter of how they’re built," he observed. He warned against endlessly trying to imitate other nations. "We can’t keep looking at other countries and trying to become them. We are English, we have our own strengths that they don’t possess.
Maybe it’s time we start playing to those strengths," Gordon concluded. Reflecting on England’s gritty 10‑man victory over Mexico at the Estadio Azteca, Gordon said that the win – achieved while playing with ten men after a red card – forged a resilient mindset that carried into later matches. "The Mexico game was the best experience of my life and it forced us to dig deep. We stopped wanting to play pretty football and fought for every ball.
That mentality seeped into the Norway and Argentina games and perhaps we held onto it too long, which ultimately cost us in the semi‑final," he explained. Gordon also spoke about his personal high after scoring against Argentina. "I thrive on adrenaline. When I score, I enter a confidence bubble where I feel untouchable.
In that moment I felt on top of the world," he said. Despite the disappointment, Gordon remains convinced of the squad’s quality and believes England could have given Spain a serious fight had they reached the final. "I was confident we would have taken on Spain and possibly won.
We’ll never know because we didn’t get there," he said. Looking ahead to the Nations League clash at Wembley, Gordon stressed the importance of motivation.
"If we can’t motivate ourselves to showcase what we’re capable of at this level, we’ll never progress. Spain are a world‑class side, but we can still prove we belong among the elite," he asserted. "I talked to my teammates at Barcelona about how they would feel if we had reached the final against Argentina.
They said we would have been very competitive. Even if we don’t replicate the final, beating the best team in the world and playing well will be a huge statement for us." England’s fans can follow the England‑Spain showdown on the Sky Sports website and app, with kickoff scheduled for 7.45 pm on Saturday. The match offers a chance for the Three Lions to demonstrate the lessons learned from the World Cup and to showcase the blend of English grit and evolving technical ability that Gordon believes will define the next chapter of England football.