Anthony Gordon is “showing he belongs” at the highest level, England captain Harry Kane said after the winger continued his excellent form for his country in their 2-0 away win over Czechia.
Gordon was on target last Saturday as England suffered a 3-2 defeat to Spain at Wembley in a thrilling UEFA Nations League opener for the Three Lions.
And it was the Barcelona man who broke the deadlock on Tuesday as Thomas Tuchel’s men bounced back in Prague, meeting Trent Alexander-Arnold’s superb right-wing cross with a stooping header under two minutes into the second half to put England in front against a Czechia side that had Pavel Sulc sent off in the first half.
That goal made it three in Gordon’s last three appearances for England, the former Newcastle United man having put them ahead in the 2-1 defeat to Argentina in the World Cup semi-final.
Kane then doubled England’s lead to effectively put the game beyond doubt with his 123rd senior international goal.
But the Bayern Munich talisman reserved praise for Gordon when speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live after the game.
“He’s showing that he belongs at the highest level, for Barcelona and England,” said Kane.
“His performances in the last couple of games have been some of his best that he has played in an England shirt and I think he is just relishing putting the shirt on and being one of the main men in the team.
“He is an important player for us and he showed that during the World Cup.”
Gordon regularly combined extremely well down the left-hand side with former Newcastle team-mate Lewis Hall.
Both Hall and Alexander-Arnold were omitted from the squad from the World Cup before being handed recalls for the first international break of the new season.
And Tuchel was impressed with the performances of both full-backs.
Speaking to ITV, Tuchel said of the pair: “Both good. The position in the second half suited Trent more than in the first half. Lewis did excellent on the other side.
“Credit to all of them because they deserved [it] and now it is important that we relax and enjoy the evening, do a good recovery and then prepare for Croatia.”
Real Madrid defender Alexander-Arnold’s absence from the England set-up under Tuchel has regularly attracted criticism.
Prior to Tuesday’s game, Alexander-Arnold’s last appearance for his country came against Andorra in a World Cup qualifier in June last year.
In further praise of his display on his return, Tuchel added to 5Live: “He did very well. He had an excellent assist. Overall like everyone [he] was professional, top attitude and one decisive action.”
