ANTHONY GORDON believes England’s players need to be “paranoid” over a potential World Cup snub to make them perform even better.
Newcastle star Gordon says he has shown only “50 per cent” of his quality for his country so far.
He still looks a safe bet for next summer’s finals, having shone in last month’s 5-0 smashing of Serbia, the Three Lions’ best performance to date under Thomas Tuchel.
And his main fight looks to be with Marcus Rashford for a starting berth on the left.
But with Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Jack Grealish left out of the squad to face Wales in Thursday night’s Wembley friendly and for Tuesday night’s World Cup qualifier in Latvia, there is no chance of the Toon winger counting his chickens.
Gordon may not be getting ahead of himself, but most fans and pundits will feel he is very likely to be in Tuchel’s squad for next summer’s tournament.
After that, it feels like a toss-up between the former Everton man and Rashford — who looks revitalised after joining Barcelona on loan from Manchester United this season.
Rashford, 27, gave everyone a sharp reminder of his quality with a brilliant double for the Catalans against Gordon’s Newcastle in the Champions League clash at St James’ Park last month.
His first strike was an impressive header but his second took fans’ breath away as Rashford blasted in from long range.
Gordon, who netted late in that 2-1 home defeat, added: “I liked him until I saw the second goal go in!
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“It is a testament to him. His mindset is unbelievable.
“People have written him off and he’s been through so much over the past couple of years.
“To get back to these levels . . . people will never understand how hard that is to do.
“He deserves a lot of credit. He’s a lovely guy. He’s quiet, nice and just goes about his business.
“The perception of him outside is quite crazy.”
