Eddie Howe is confident there is more to come from Anthony Gordon as he attempts to force his way into Gareth Southgate’s England squad for next summer’s Euro 2024 finals.
The 22-year-old, a £45million signing from Everton in January, scored for the fourth successive Premier League game at St James’ Park to secure a 1-0 victory over Manchester United on Saturday night to further enhance his blossoming reputation.
Howe has studiously avoided pressing Gordon’s case for a senior international call-up, but knows further improvement will inevitably catapult him into Southgate’s thinking.
Asked how much more there is to come from the youngster, Howe said: “I think there is a lot more to come, but I would say that, that’s always been my mentality to players, especially if they want to improve.
“Anthony has got this desire to get better every day. Every day he steps on to the training pitch, he’s wanting to do extra. We have to sometimes take him off the pitch ourselves when we feel he’s done enough.
“But he’s got a burning motivation to be the best that he’s capable of becoming and we’re loving working with him.
“There’s an openness in him, he is inquisitive, he wants to ask questions, he wants to start that dialogue and debate his game which is great from our perspective.”
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Gordon’s 55th-minute intervention proved decisive on the night as he timed his run to meet Kieran Trippier’s inviting cross and slot past keeper Andre Onana.
He also scored the winner against Arsenal on November and registered against both Crystal Palace and Chelsea to underline his rich vein of form.
Asked if his consistent level of performance put him in contention for England’s Euros campaign, Howe said: “I’d agree that he’s playing at a very, very high level and he has done this season. When you’ve come here to watch Anthony, that’s been his level.
“He is getting the goals and you need the headlines if you are going to force your way into the England squad with the competition that he has in those positions.
“There’s a long way to go to that squad and he’s just got to keep very level and focused on playing so well for us, and hopefully the rest will take care of itself.”
The only sour note for Newcastle was an injury to keeper Nick Pope, who is to see a specialist after dislocating his left shoulder late in the game.
Howe said: “That’s the disappointment of the night. Nick looks like he’s dislocated his shoulder. It was such a strange thing, really, because he has made that dive thousands of times, but it looks like the arm has kept going maybe on the moist floor and his shoulder has come out of joint.
“We’re going to have to seek specialist opinion and see what happens, but it doesn’t look good for him.”
Defending champs Clarendon College secure 2-1 win over Denbigh High to kick off DaCosta Cup
Defending champions Clarendon College opened their ISSA DaCosta Cup campaign with a tense 2-1 win over Denbigh High at the Catherine Hall Stadium in Montego Bay, Jamaica on Saturday.
Clarendon College took an early lead in the fourth minute when Justin Hayles latched on to a through ball to finish across Denbigh goalkeeper Kevin Pryce into the bottom corner.
They went two ahead when Terron Williams scored directly from a corner kick in the 22nd minute.
Denbigh were the more attacking team to start the second 45 minutes and were handed a lifeline when Tayo Cross converted a late spot kick won by substitute Rahjaun Cassanova.
In the end, however, Clarendon College held their nerve to ensure that they got the three points to kick off the defense of their title.
Clarendon College will next take on Lennon High on September 14 while Denbigh will face Claude McKay a day earlier.
Mona High begins defense of Manning Cup title with 7-0 win over Waterford
Mona High School started the defense of their first ever ISSA Manning Cup title with a dominant 7-0 thrashing of opponents Waterford High at Catherine Hall Stadium in Montego Bay, St. James on Saturday.
Man of the match Carlton Brown scored a pair of goals in the 17th and 37th minutes, the first being a brilliant right-footed strike from long range that evaded Waterford goalkeeper Jaheim Daley.
In between those two strikes, Savi-K Morton made it 2-0 in the 31st minute through a well-placed left-footed shot from just inside the 18-yard box.
Captain Robino Gordon made it 4-0 ten minutes later with a close-range finish, a score that would hold until the end of the first half.
Just a minute into the second 45 minutes, Alex Suazo made it 5-0 with the second long-range strike of the day.
The scoring was completed by Kshaine Gordon (67’) and Denzel McKenzie (70’).
“It’s really important to get off to a good start and we have more to come,” Brown said in a post-match interview.
Mona assistant coach Kyle Butler believes his team could have done even better but was happy with the win nonetheless.
“Definitely a statement win. The foundation is there but we’re still in second gear. We still have a lot that we can improve on. We could have won 10-0 easily but as I said the foundation is there and we want to build on that,” he said.
Waterford High coach Kevin Reid expressed disappointment at his team’s performance.
“It’s a disappointing start for us. Experience got the better of us today. Nevertheless, I believe they learned something to day and I believe the best team won. We just have to get back in training and put in some more work and, hopefully, we will have a better second game,” he said.
Mona will next take on Jonathan Grant on September 12 while Waterford will tackle Charlie Smith on the same day.
United States 1-2 Canada: David helps continue Marsch's impressive run
Canada continued their impressive run under Jesse Marsch after their Copa America exploits, beating the United States 2-1 in a friendly at Children's Mercy Park.
Goals in either half from Jacob Shaffelburg and Jonathan David handed Canada the advantage, with Luca de la Torre's goal proving a mere consolation in another dominant display from the visitors.
A frenetic start to proceedings was rewarded in the 17th minute as Johnny Cardoso's loose touch allowed David to tee up Shaffelburg to finish beyond Patrick Schulte.
Canada restricted their opponents to just one shot in the first-half but were unable to build their lead despite registering 11 shots, five of which were on target.
But they got the goal their performance merited after the break, again pouncing on a mistake by Michael Varas's side, with David finishing into the roof of the net.
De la Torre responded with a composed finish after neat play from substitute Aidan Morris, but Canada were able to see out the result with relative ease on enemy turf.
Data Debrief: David dazzles in Kansas
Having already scored three goals in seven appearances for Lille this season, David transferred that goal-scoring touch to the international stage.
The 24-year-old impressed against the USA, recording more shots (four) and shots on target (three), while also registering an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.12 to Canada's 1.95 total.
Canada's triumph was their first win against the USMNT on American soil since 1957, ending the US' 23-game unbeaten home run against them, the longest against any opponent in team history.
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