Barcelona forward Anthony Gordon has urged England to stop trying to emulate Spain and play to their Premier League strengths to win another major tournament.
England are still waiting to win their first silverware on the international stage since 1966 as they finished third in this summer’s World Cup finals.
Despite looking like they’ll reach the final of the 2026 World Cup, a second-half collapse in the semi-final against Argentina reignited a longstanding debate over their ability to retain the ball against top sides.
Thomas Tuchel has given an hint that he may need to “embrace the chaos” of a riskier approach in order to win Euro 2028.
However, Gordon believe England must look to within to find the improvement needed to lift another trophy despite the Spanish’s possession-based style often being held up as the exemplar to follow.
Anthony Gordon reacts during a training session at St George’s Park on September 23, 2026 in Burton upon Trent, England. (Photo by Harriet Massey/Getty Images)
”I think culturally, it’s not just that tournament or that [Argentina] game where we couldn’t control a game England as a nation, we don’t have that strength like the Spanish, where we control games like they do,” he said.
”It’s not in us. 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. It’s much different than I’ve ever experienced playing in this country.
”So, I’m not sure we can ever get that, but we can definitely get better or maybe go the other way and really play to our strengths, which is play physical, play direct football, and on the counterattack. You can go either way, and there’s no perfect way to win a football match. It’ll be interesting to see what we do.
”Maybe we’re at that point. I’m probably not the best person to say that. I don’t know. I’m speaking from a point of view where I feel like we are trying to replicate Spain because I’m in Spain now. I know we’ve got just as good players, but they have different qualities. So why try and make them same players, the same as the Spanish players? Because the Spanish players lack the things that that we have, and vice versa.
”I don’t want to speak because I’m not the manager, so I’m not going to control the tactics or how we play, but I think we need to stop looking elsewhere as a country, and maybe be proud of who we are, what we are, the things we have, and stop comparing with other countries because we’re English. We’re not Spanish or French or other countries who have succeeded.”
