Anthony Gordon reveals Rooney and Gerrard inspired him to choose England over Scotland

Anthony Gordon has dismissed any suggestion he considered switching international allegiance to Scotland, saying representing England has been his sole ambition since the age of five or six, with Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard the childhood idols who made it so.

The Newcastle forward, 23, earned his first senior England call-up for the Wembley friendly double-header against Brazil and Belgium, putting him in contention for Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad. Through his heritage, Gordon remains eligible for both Scotland and the Republic of Ireland — routes that could have offered a more straightforward path to a major tournament this summer.

“It was never a thought for me,” Gordon said when asked whether switching allegiance had crossed his mind. “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.”

Born in Liverpool, Gordon pointed to two Merseyside icons as the source of that conviction. “For me, it was always [Wayne] Rooney and [Steven] Gerrard because they were from similar areas,” he said. “I always used to run around the garden from the youngest age I can remember and try and recreate goals. I looked up to them massively.”

Gordon arrives in the senior setup having already tasted international success, helping England win the 2023 European Under-21 Championship and picking up the player of the tournament award in the process. He believes that experience in a high-calibre Under-21 environment has prepared him well for the step up.

“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.”

Neither Rooney nor Gerrard — despite captaining England and Scotland respectively across decorated club careers — won a major international trophy. Gordon and the current England generation are aiming to change that narrative, and the former Everton winger said it was also encouraging to learn from Southgate just how close he had come to being selected in previous squads.