Anthony Gordon is raring to go for England’s friendly against Belgium as the Newcastle forward looks to build on his senior international debut.
The 23-year-old was a rare bright spark for England as they lost 1-0 to Brazil on Saturday night in the first of two final friendlies before Gareth Southgate names his squad for Euro 2024.
Gordon, who was named player of the tournament as England won the Under-21 European Championship last year, impressed off the left at Wembley – where Endrick’s late goal secured a narrow victory for the away side.
Southgate’s squad has been ravaged with injury before and during the current camp and, with the domestic campaign ramping up, several players who started against Brazil are expected to be rotated for the visit of Belgium on Tuesday night.
Gordon, though, is keen to don the England shirt once more and stake another claim for a spot on the plane to Germany.
“Not just Tuesday, any other day,” he replied with a smile when asked if he wanted to stay in the side to face Belgium.
“I want to play as many games for England as I possibly can. I’m quite hard on myself so I wanted to score and win. If I think like that, I can’t do myself any harm.
“I know I played well but I hope for more. It was not quite how I envisaged it. But it’s still an amazing day for me, I relished every minute of it. I’ve got a taste now so I want more.”
Southgate embraced Gordon when he was replaced by Marcus Rashford in the second half, but the former Everton player revealed it did not come with a promise of a place in his Euros squad.
Asked if the England manager had told him he was on the plane, Gordon said: “No! Hopefully he says that in a couple of months.
“He was saying, ‘fantastic’. He was really pleased for me. I think he was happy with my performance which is always a good thing.
“It was chaotic. When I came off (against Chelsea on March 11), I didn’t know what was going to happen.
“Everything was up in the air. But I was really fortunate to miss out on any injury and I got to live the best day of my life.”
Super sub Joselu 'the perfect reflection of Madrid', hails Ancelotti after Bayern brace
Carlo Ancelotti saluted Joselu after the striker climbed off the bench and scored twice against Bayern Munich to send Real Madrid through to their 18th Champions League final.
Following Alphonso Davies' earlier strike at Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid trailed Bayern 1-0 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate when Joselu replaced Federico Valverde with nine minutes of their pulsating semi-final tie remaining.
The 33-year-old, who is on loan from second-tier Espanyol, turned the tie on its head with two dramatic late goals.
First, he pounced on a rare mistake by Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer to stab in an 88th-minute equaliser, before volleying home Antonio Rudiger's cross in the first minute of stoppage time.
This was Joselu's eighth substitute appearance in this season's Champions League and Ancelotti praised the professionalism of his striker, who has now netted 17 times across all competitions, despite spending much of the campaign on the bench.
"He's a player who's contributed a lot this season, even if he hasn't played many minutes," the Italian said.
"But he's the perfect reflection of what this squad is: players who contribute a lot without losing confidence [if they're not playing] and the idea that they can offer the team something."
Ancelotti, whose side will play Borussia Dortmund in his sixth Champions League final as a manager on June 1, also hailed the character demonstrated by his players during another "magical" Madrid performance.
"It's happened so many times now, it's something inexplicable," he added. "It's happened again [thanks to] fans that push [us], a fantastic atmosphere and players who never stop believing that they can do it. It's something magical, there's no explanation for it."
Al Ahli 1-2 Al Hilal: Malcom saves league leaders' winning streak
Malcom’s stunning solo goal finished Al Hilal’s second-half comeback to earn a 2-1 win over Al Ahli in the Saudi Pro League on Monday.
The forward started his run from inside his own half before slotting in the winner, after teeing up Aleksandr Mitrovic for the equaliser just after the interval.
Feras Al Brikan had given Al Ahli the lead in the 30th minute, but the hosts could not hold onto it against the league leaders.
Al Hilal continue their unbeaten league campaign to a 30th match, moving 12 points clear at the top of the table, while Al Ahli remain in third, now 22 points off the AFC Champions League spot.
Data Debrief
Malcom was one of Al Hilal's most influential players; as well as playing a hand in both goals, he had the joint-most shots (five), and the joint-most shots on target (two), and created two chances for his team.
Al Ahli also struggled to cope with Mitrovic's threat, as the Serbian created an xG of 0.61 from his five shots, having 11 touches in the opposition box.
Ronaldo delivers another hat-trick as Al Nassr ease past Al Wedha
Cristiano Ronaldo crafted a decisive hat-trick as Al Nassr hammered Al Wedha 6-0 in Saturday's Saudi Pro League meeting.
Portugal veteran Ronaldo found the net twice in the first 12 minutes at Al Awal Park before completing his treble after the interval.
Sadio Mane teed up Ronaldo's third finish, as well as an 18th-minute strike from Otavio, who returned the favour for the Senegal international to score on the stroke of half-time.
Mohammed Al Fatil added a late sixth as Al Nassr recorded their seventh straight league win since their March 7 loss against Al Raed, moving them back within nine points of leaders Al Hilal.
Jorge Jesus's Al Hilal swept Al Tauwoon aside in a 3-0 away triumph on Friday for their fourth straight victory across all competitions.
Talisman Aleksandar Mitrovic opened the scoring at King Abdullah Sport City Stadium before Saud Abdulhamid and Saleh Alsherhi wrapped up a win that kept Al Hilal in charge of the title race.
There was no such fortune for fifth-placed Al Ittihad as they fell to a third straight defeat in all competitions after a 3-1 loss away against Abha.
Jota levelled after Grzegorz Krychowiak's 57th-minute penalty, only for Hassan Al-Ali and Fabian Noguera to power hosts Abha to a comfortable win.
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