‘The best day of my life’ – Anthony Gordon and Ezri Konsa reflect on England debuts

Anthony Gordon says that his England debut will take some beating in terms of his career highlights so far.

The Newcastle United man was handed a start against Brazil in Saturday’s game at Wembley Stadium, after earning his first senior call-up for March’s games.

Despite suffering a narrow defeat following Endrick’s late goal, Gordon believes the game could’ve gone a different way.

"Tonight was the best day of my life, but I envisioned it a bit different, with a win and a goal,” said the former Everton and England MU21s ace.

"The chance in the first half with the volley, if I am being hard on myself, I would’ve liked to score it.

“I thought we were the better team but we lacked that cutting edge that they had at the end.

"This is my long-term dream I have had. To achieve it means everything to me.

"I haven't just envisioned it in the last couple of years, I have imagined it in the garden [as a kid] recreating Rooney and Gerrard's goals - it's just an amazing moment.

"You can never truly be in this England squad with the talent around you. I have got so long to go as I haven't showed them what I can do to a full extent."

Ezri Konsa was another player to pick up his first cap too, after being introduced as a first-half substitute in place of Kyle Walker.

The Aston Villa defender quickly grew into the game and like Gordon, result aside, admits he enjoyed the experience.

"It’s definitely worth the wait and it's a dream come true - a proud moment,” said the former England MU20 player.

"I wasn't expecting to come on that early, but I enjoyed every moment of it. I thought we were the better team and dominated the ball, but we couldn't score a goal.

"You see their front four and you see the quality they have got. They always have a lot of talent and we saw that tonight.

"I’m sure the other boys don't like losing. It’s never a nice feeling and we wanted to win so it’s a mixture of feelings but hopefully I can look back on tonight and see that I have made my debut for England.

"It is crazy, if someone told me years ago I would’ve said you were lying. It is every kid's dream to play in a major tournament, so hopefully I make the squad that goes to Germany."

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