Gary Lineker made feelings clear to England star snubbed by Gareth Southgate
Anthony Gordon was used sparingly by Gareth Southgate during Euro 2024 and Gary Lineker felt the winger should have been given more minutes in the tournament.
Anthony Gordon played just one minute during Euro 2024 (Image: Getty)
Gary Lineker has disclosed his sympathetic words to Anthony Gordon over the player's limited playtime for England during Euro 2024. Gordon was largely benched throughout the tournament, earning a mere one-minute appearance in the group stage finale against Slovenia with no participation in the knockout rounds.
This was in stark contrast to the public outcry for Gordon's inclusion. Fans frequently begged for the Newcastle man to start games or come on as a substitute during the Euros, but to no avail.
Those cries were particularly strong as Phil Foden struggled to leave his mark until a tactical shift by Gareth Southgate in the quarter-final clash with Switzerland. Lineker, 63, confessed to having a word with Gordon after England's loss to Spain in the final, expressing that he deserved more time on the field than he was granted.
On The Rest is Football podcast, Lineker, alongside Alan Shearer, lamented Gordon's minimal minutes, concurring that his speed on the flanks would have been the perfect complement to Harry Kane's style of play, reports the Mirror. Lineker recounted: "I saw Anthony Gordon after the game and I said to him briefly 'I feel for you at this tournament, I think you should have got more minutes,' and I went 'but don't worry, you will get more chances'".
In the aftermath of England's defeat, Rio Ferdinand did not mince words criticising Southgate's strategy, attributing the team's downfall to the manager's decisions. "We said after the group stages, if you're going to play the conservative side of things with the amount of talent we have in this squad, you have to win," declared the former England captain.
Gary Lineker admitted Anthony Gordon was unlucky to have played as little as he did during Euro 2024 (Image: TheRestisFootball/Youtube)
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"Otherwise it will come down to it being absolutely dissected and looked at as being a negative approach. That falls on the manager's toes. He sets this team out in a particular way to play. That's his style of football and you have to win playing like that because these players are too good. They play too well for their clubs to come here and look a shadow of themselves."
"We were a team when the game was in the balance - but we were held back on a leash and that's the disappointing thing with the quality of players we have in this squad. The top teams get control and are aggressive from minute one and take games off opponents."