Anthony Gordon believes he would “add a different element” to the England team, although he hasn’t spoken to manager Gareth Southgate about his lack of opportunities at Euro 2024.
The Newcastle United winger has made just one appearance so far, as an 88th-minute substitute against Slovenia, after which he admitted he was frustrated with his lack of game time.
Gordon is likely to start from the bench again when England take on Slovakia in the round of 16 on Sunday but, if he is named in the starting XI, he is confident he will make an impact.
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He said: “My strengths are I’m direct, I’m quick.
“I’m an absolute nightmare for anyone I play against. I’m always trying to put people on the back foot and I think I add a different element to the team.
“I know how hard I am to play against, I can feel it, I know they don’t like playing against me and I’m going to carry on doing it.”
Despite telling the media of his irritation on Tuesday, Gordon says he has not raised it with Southgate.
“No, I’m not that guy,” he added.
“I think if I train to the very best of my ability, do the best I can everyday, that’s my way of giving the manager a headache in terms of selection and the rest I can’t control.
“I don’t think I need any opportunity to want it more. As I said, I can only control so much and that’s everything I do every day and I try to push the lads as best as I can when I train.
“When I get on I’m trying to stay on, I’m not trying to come off. I’m playing to start the next game, that’s my mindset.”
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Gordon addressed the media sporting a nasty graze on his chin and scars all over his hands and arms as a result of a bike accident on Wednesday.
“It was meant to be a recovery bike ride and I was going down the hill and tried to take a picture for my family and before I knew it I was face first into the floor. It’s only few cuts, it’s not anything painful,” he said.
“Electric is a lot faster than normal bikes – the front brake is on the left hand side and I tried to press the right one to slow down and it didn’t slow down it came to a full stop and I’ve gone ten feet in the air chin first.
“I just carried on and finished the bike ride. When I got back to camp I had to put stuff on it which absolutely stung. No-one saw me thankfully.”
