Newcastle forward Anthony Gordon insists he only ever had eyes for England and that a switch of international allegiance to Scotland was “never a thought”.
The 23-year-old has earned his first senior call-up for the upcoming Wembley friendly double-header against Brazil and Belgium, potentially breaking into Gareth Southgate’s squad just in time for Euro 2024.
Gordon helped England to glory at the 2023 European Under-21 Championship, where he was also named as player of the tournament.
He remains available to both the Republic of Ireland and Scotland through his heritage, with the latter seemingly a possible option to get into the senior international scene and secure a spot at the Euros this summer.
Now, though, that opportunity comes with England and, for the former Everton winger, that was the only outcome he was looking for.
“It was never a thought for me,” he said when asked if he had considered it.
“That’s no disrespect to Scotland, that’s all. I’ve been tunnel-visioned on playing for England since I was five or six years old. Nothing could ever shake that off.
“I could never forgive myself if I hadn’t got to this point. Like I said, it is just a dream I’ve had from so young so nothing else has ever entered my mind at any time.”
Born in Liverpool, Gordon’s passion for one day wanting to wear the Three Lions of England stems from local boys he looked up to as a youngster.
“I think I’ve always just wanted to be at the very top of football,” he said.
“I think that’s every kid’s dream who likes football. I think as a young English kid, that is the pinnacle to play for your country so it is no extra motivation or a great story but just that.
“For me, it was always (Wayne) Rooney and (Steven) Gerrard because they were from similar areas.
“I always used to run around the garden from the youngest age I can remember and try and recreate goals, create my own types of goals. I looked up to them massively.”
Despite both captaining their country, neither Rooney nor Gerrard ever won international silverware – Gordon and the current crop are aiming to do just that and he believes tapping into the recent Under-21 success can only help.
“Most definitely because the standard of the Under-21s is so high,” he said.
“Our team was a really, really good team. A lot of them played Premier League week in, week out at some big clubs.
“Being in those environments, wanting to showcase what you can do, prepares you for this environment and I’m very thankful for all the experiences I had with the youth teams.”
Gordon will be hoping to take the step up to senior football in his stride and admits it was added motivation when Southgate had spoken just how close he had come to picking the Newcastle man in previous squads.
“(It was) very reassuring – I was performing well,” he added.
“I was working hard, the season was going well for me. Just to hear him say that I was in the thoughts and close.
“It gave me just a little boost to carry on knowing I’m not too far away and in the games, made me run just that little bit harder.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
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