Thomas Tuchel says Anthony Gordon’s move to Barcelona is “excellent” news – because the England boss now has a good excuse to go to Spain.
Gordon has joined the Spanish giants in a stunning £70m move which may give him a lift ahead of the World Cup and also improve his level. Tuchel says it is good news for England because he is joining “one of the biggest clubs” – and it is good for scouting missions in the sun.
England boss Tuchel said: “It is excellent. It is such a nice trip for me to watch matches. I can only encourage people to go to nice places. I can fly there and watch him there in the Champions League. There will big competition, he will enter one of the biggest clubs in the world and a totally new style of playing football. Of course it is a culture where winning really matters, winning every match matters. He wanted it, he wanted a new adventure and I am happy for him and I think it will be a good experience for him.”
Tuchel actually cited Arsenal’s competition for places between great pals Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke as evidence that rivalry can work. Saka and Madueke go head-to-head for both club and country and will be rivals at this World Cup. Gordon will be up against Marcus Rashford for England and also potentially Barcelona if the Spanish club sign the on-loan Manchester United forward.
Tuchel added: “They can do what they do here and you see it with Noni and Bukayo. It is not impossible. Let’s see what Barcelona decides and what Marcus decides. I am not involved in this at the moment but it is a quirk.”
Rashford started against New Zealand before being replaced by Gordon at half time with the pair fighting it out for a starting place against Croatia on June 17.
Jude Bellingham has backed Rio Ngumoha for a long England career after the Liverpool teenager’s “amazing” debut.
Ngumoha, 17, was a half time substitute against New Zealand and Bellingham presented him with his cap in the dressing room after the game. England star Bellingham, who was captain in the second half, told him: “Congratulations on an amazing debut and I think we all enjoyed watching it. Obviously you’re going to have a really bright future at your club and hopefully with us as well and it’s a pleasure to give it to you because I know there will be so many more.”
Liverpool starlet Ngumoha admitted he was “speechless” afterwards and it has already led to fans calling him for him to be in the World Cup squad.
But that is a non-starter as Ngumoha – who is one of four training players along with Alex Scott, Josh King and Ethan Nwaneri – was not in the original 55 player list given to FIFA and therefore cannot be promoted. Scott was the only one in the 55 but did not get on against New Zealand.
View 2 ImagesRio Ngumoha made a big impression on his England debut(Image: 2026 Getty Images)
England keeper Jordan Pickford added on Ngumoha: “He was quality, nothing fazed him. He’s had a really good season at Liverpool and the manager gave him his debut and he showed how good he is. All the young lads have been brilliant in training, they have moulded into the squad and helped us massively and it also shows the talent we have in the system. It is a credit to the Academies and the pathway we have in English football.”
Ngumoha wore No.31 on his back and will also get a legacy cap number after becoming the 1,300th player to represent England.
Tuchel admits he is “old school” and will have to get used to FIFA’s new pre-match routine.
Every squad member will be expected to line up around the centre circle before each game during the tournament in a quirky new gimmick. Last year at the Club World Cup, every player came out to great fanfare with their name read out and FIFA have resisted that but it will mean all 26 will line-up – even if they have been dropped.
The England boss admitted: “I need to get used to all these new things. Honestly I’m a bit old school. And I always like it the way it was but I also understand that things change through time so we have to get used to it, all of us. And maybe it’s a good thing.”
When asked whether the players would be happy to do it after being dropped, Tuchel added: “I don’t think about this, honestly. He’s dropped anyway some hours before so … and he has until then to digest it. Maybe it’s also a nice thing for the players who are not selected to be actually there as a full team. You’ll have to ask the players.”
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