Anthony Gordon has turned his frustration at Uefa Euro 2024 into fuel for England’s next push, saying the tournament was “a waste of a summer” after he made only one appearance. The 25-year-old winger said he came away from the summer feeling shortchanged, even as his current form has made that disappointment part of his story rather than the end of it.
That is why the search around Gordon is live again now. His words land alongside England’s latest run, with the forward involved in a 2-1 win over the Democratic Republic of the Congo and then helping drive a 3-2 victory over Mexico on Sunday at Azteca Stadium. Against Mexico, he won the penalty Harry Kane converted for England’s third goal, after Jarell Quansah’s red card had already forced England into a different game.
Gordon’s Euro 2024 experience was brief enough to sting. He came on as an 89th-minute substitute against Slovenia and was then finished with the tournament with only that one outing. He said he wanted the No 11 shirt but ended up with No 18, adding that it was still a chance to put things right in that number. “I’m not going to lie … I wanted the No 11 shirt here,” he said. “It’s actually a good thing because I get to put [things] right in that number.”
The pattern fits the way he describes himself. “The reason I’ll always do well is because my mentality towards disappointment is very good,” Gordon said, and the line carries more weight because he has had to live through setbacks rather than talk around them. He also said he missed a lot of football towards the end of the season because of injury at Newcastle, which helps explain why the summer felt lost to him and why every England minute since has mattered more.
There is also a sharp edge to the way he remembers the tournament. Gordon said he did not enjoy it at the time, but believes he can use it for experience now. That sits uncomfortably beside his description of the summer as wasted, and it is exactly where the story lies: he is using the disappointment as proof that he can come back stronger, while admitting the frustration still cuts.
England’s next test is the World Cup quarter-final against Norway in Miami, and Gordon has already shown what that response can look like. He came off the bench in the 61st minute against the Democratic Republic of the Congo and delivered two assists for Kane in England’s 2-1 win. If the summer at Uefa Euro 2024 felt empty to him, the answer now is not a speech. It is the next touch, the next run, and the next chance to make sure No 18 means something different from here on.
