Anthony Gordon felt that England suffered a “missed chance” in a 3-2 Nations League defeat against Spain.
Lamine Yamal fired Spain in front after 110 seconds from Marc Guehi’s error before Gordon’s finish and Harry Kane’s header put the Three Lions in front at half time.
Kane however struck a 54th-minute penalty onto the crossbar which swung the momentum as Spain equalised through Alex Baena, before Mikel Oyarzabal netted the winner for the world champions.
“I think it’s a bit of a missed chance,” reflected Gordon post match on England blowing a 2-1 lead after having came from behind to lead at half-time as he criticised his teammates for their defensive errors which proved costly, and argued that the Three Lions threw the win away.
“I thought it was a great game to watch, with the quality of attacking play on show at the highest level. But in a game like that, mistakes cost you. You always feel like you’ve given it away rather than been beaten, to be honest.
“You could argue about it because they were as good as us and we were as good as them, but we just made a couple of mistakes.
Gordon also iterated that England would of won if Kane had converted his penalty but admitted that Kane’s double touch was a mistake.
“If Harry scores that penalty, I think it’s match point. I think it puts us in a great position to go on and get more. We were hungry for more; we came out to go for the throat, for the kill.
“Penalties happen. You’re never really going to miss one on purpose, so we’ll learn from that one.
The winger also addressed England’s “identity” as he described the performance against Spain as a blueprint for what they want to achieve once mistakes are ironed out.
“We’ve talked a lot about identity for this team moving forward, and that’s the template, if you want to phrase it that way.
“Like I said a couple of days ago, I don’t think there is a gap. I feel like we’re right there and we can win that game.
“If the penalty goes in, I feel like we go on and win the game. In hindsight, it’s always easy to say that, but I felt good in the game. I feel like if the penalty went in, we would have won.
“So I don’t think there is a gap. I felt confident, but feeling confident doesn’t always translate to a win, but again, I thought you’re seeing here tonight, that we’re a top team.”