The England winger and Barcelona star Anthony Gordon has insisted that a total ball control style is not in the DNA of English football, calling for the national team to abandon blind imitation of Spain's approach.
Speaking at St George's Park ahead of their match against the reigning world champions at Wembley, the 25-year-old emphasised the need for England to focus on their unique strengths:
We can't keep looking to other countries and trying to be like them because we are not them. We are English, and we possess strengths that our opponents do not have. It's time to start playing the football we are genuinely good at.
I play in Spain and see that we are trying to copy them. We have players on the same level, but with different characteristics. Why make them similar to the Spaniards? Spanish players lack what we have, and vice versa.
Ball control isn't embedded in English DNA. I'm not sure it can even be taught. Spaniards just see the game differently — they are literally built that way.
Gordon made a move to Barcelona from Newcastle for £69.3 million this summer, and he noted that playing in La Liga has deepened his understanding of the fundamental differences in football cultures.
The winger also reflected on England's 2-1 semi-final defeat to Argentina in the World Cup, where he opened the scoring but was substituted on the hour mark as Thomas Tuchel switched to a five-defender system:
After I scored, I was running purely on adrenaline, riding a wave of absolute confidence. I felt on top of the world. The substitution surprised me, but it's something that happens to wingers.
It's not fair to place all the blame on one individual who was doing everything possible to win the cup for us all. We as players should have taken the initiative and held onto the game. In the last twenty minutes, the team didn’t show their best football, and that’s something the coach couldn’t influence from the sidelines. We have to share the responsibility together.
Despite the semi-final setback, England managed to secure bronze medals by defeating France 6-4, achieving the best result for the national team in World Cups since 1966.
