England can succeed without copying Spain’s style, Gordon

England can win big tournaments without trying to copy Spain, Anthony Gordon has said. The Three Lions are getting ready to face the world champions.

England will play Spain at Wembley on Saturday. This will be their first match since the World Cup, where Thomas Tuchel’s team reached the semi-finals and then beat France in the third-place match.

Gordon thinks England should focus on their own strengths instead of trying to play like Spain. He believes they need to find their own way of playing.

As reported by BBC Sport on Thursday, Gordon said, “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 the way we’re good at.”

Gordon plays for Barcelona now. He joined the Catalan club from Newcastle for £69.3m in the summer. This move has given him a new view of Spanish football and how players there control matches.

He explained, “I’m speaking from a point of view where I feel like we are trying to replicate Spain.”

“Because I’m in Spain, I know we have just as good players, but they have different qualities, so why are you trying to make those players the same as the Spanish players?”

Gordon also raised a point about Spain’s skill in keeping possession. He wondered if it is something that can be easily taught.

“It’s not in the English DNA,” he said. “I’m not sure it’s something that can be taught because now I think, playing in Spain, I can speak with an educated view on the way they keep the ball is different.”

He added, “It’s the way they’re built. I don’t know whether it is something that maybe we can’t ever put a name to, but they’re definitely built different.”

Gordon talked about England’s World Cup semi-final loss to Argentina. He said that time was one of the lowest points in his career.

“I’ve never felt worse,” he admitted.

Still, he believes this disappointment could motivate England in future tournaments.

“The scar doesn’t have to be a negative one because it might lead us to victory in the next tournaments,” Gordon said.