A 3-2 defeat for England to Spain did not dampen the belief of Anthony Gordon in his country.
The World Cup champions, who also defeated the Three Lions 2-1 in the 2024 European Championships final, got the better of England in their opening Nations League fixture.
Praise for Spain's football DNA
This result comes days after Gordon, who now plies his trade at club level for Barcelona, praised the Spaniards for a DNA of football England do not replicate in terms of technique and solution finding.
Gordon: ‘We're a top team’
But English football has come a way in terms of player development since the start of the century, and after the hosts took the lead through Gordon and Harry Kane, a penalty for the captain could have put the Three Lions 3-1 up in the second half. Gordon acknowledged how both sides’ strengths showed up at differing stages of the contest, giving both qualities that led to a competitive contest.
"Kind of if you want to phrase it that way in terms of what I said in the week about being direct and playing to an English style, being quick, really putting teams on the back foot. [The goal for the 1-1] kind of summed up what I said which was quite nice, but ultimately it didn't lead to a victory.
"They're the best in the world for a reason. When it went to 3-2 you see their ability to really control possession. I think against someone like that you have really got to go for the throat which we did. The penalty was a massive momentum shift. We just lost to the best in the world. The gap is not big in my mind and I think tonight proved that. We just need to not make mistakes at the highest level.
“I don't think there is a gap [to Spain] I feel like we're right there. We can win that game so easily. If the penalty goes in we can go on and win the game. In hindsight it's always easy to say that.
“But I felt good in the game. I don't think there is a gap and I think if we played them in the final I would've felt confident. Being confident doesn't always translate into a win, but I think you've seen here tonight that we're a top team."
