Anthony Gordon regrets mistakes after England’s 3-2 defeat uefa nations league But in the defeat to Spain he reiterated that he did not feel there was a gap between the two sides.
England were 104 seconds behind in their first game since the World Cup as Spain won and the Three Lions finished third, Lamine Yamal punishing Marc Guehi’s error to open the scoring.
But after Spain had successive chances, Gordon completed a fine counter-attack by England to level the score before Harry Kane’s deflected header put the home side in front.
However, Kane failed to take a penalty kick in the 9th minute of the second half, which became the turning point of the game.
Spain capitalized on the mistake, with Alex Baena equalizing after a mistake by left-back Nico O’Reilly, with the Atletico Madrid man then teeing off with substitute Mikel Oyarzabal to end a fine game in favor of the world champions.
It was a sense of déjà vu for England, with Oyarzabal’s winning goal in the Euro 2024 final coming back to haunt them.
But Gordon remains optimistic about England’s performance and their position relative to Luis de la Fuente’s side.
“I think it’s a bit of a missed opportunity,” Gordon told ITV.
“I thought it was a great game to watch and be a part of, with some offensive performances at the highest level. But I think in a game like this, mistakes cost you.
“You always feel like you gave up the game rather than them winning the game. But of course you can argue about both teams because they were as good as us and we were as good as them. I just feel guilty about those mistakes.”
Asked whether England would have won if Kane had scored a penalty after Rodri’s foul on Jude Bellingham, Gordon replied: “I think so, I think it puts us in a good position to get more.
“We were hungry for more. We came out for the throat, for the kill, and we did that. Penalties happen. He never really missed, so we’ll let him get away from that.
“Like I said a few days ago, I don’t think there’s a gap [to Spain]. I feel like we’re there. We could win that game easily. If the free throws go in, we can keep playing and win the game.
“It’s always easy to say that in hindsight. But I felt good going into the game. I didn’t think there was a gap and I think if we had played them in the final I would have felt confident.
“Confidence doesn’t always mean winning, but I think you saw here tonight that we are a top team.”