Anthony Gordon rued England‘s mistakes after they suffered a 3-2 UEFA Nations League defeat to Spain but reiterated he does not feel there is a gap between the two sides.
England fell behind 104 seconds into their first game since the World Cup, which Spain won as the Three Lions finished third, with Lamine Yamal punishing an error from Marc Guehi to open the scoring.
But, after a string of Spain chances, Gordon levelled matters as he rounded off a wonderful England counter-attack, before a deflected Harry Kane header put the hosts in front.
However, Kane’s failure to convert from the penalty spot nine minutes into the second half proved a turning point in the game.
Spain capitalised on that miss, Alex Baena levelling matters after a mistake from left-back Nico O’Reilly, with the Atletico Madrid man then teeing up fellow substitute Mikel Oyarzabal to settle an absorbing contest in the world champions’ favour.
For England it was a case of deja vu as Oyarzabal again haunted them having scored the winning goal in the Euro 2024 final between the two sides.
But Gordon still expressed an optimistic view of England’s performance and their standing relative to that of Luis de la Fuente’s side.
“I think it was a bit of a missed chance,” Gordon told ITV.
“I thought it was a great game to watch and to play in, some of the attacking play was at the highest level. But I think in a game like that mistakes cost you.
“You always feel like it’s you’re giving it away rather than them winning it. But of course you could argue both teams because they were as good as us and we were as good as them. I’m just gutted about the mistakes.”
Asked if England would have prevailed had Kane converted his penalty following Rodri’s foul on Jude Bellingham, Gordon replied: “I think so, I think it puts us in a great position to go and 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 misses so we’ll let him off with that one.
“Like I said a couple of days ago, I don’t think there is a gap [to Spain]. I feel like we’re right there. We can win that game so easily. If the penalty goes in we can go on and win the game.
“In hindsight it’s always easy to say that. But I felt good in the game. I don’t think there is a gap and I think if we played them in the final I would’ve felt confident.
“Being confident doesn’t always translate into a win, but I think you’ve seen here tonight that we’re a top team.”
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