Anthony Gordon frustrated again as Newcastle United teammate reaches England milestone vs Denmark

Anthony Gordon endured another frustrating evening sat on the substitutes bench as England drew 1-1 against Denmark in Frankfurt on Thursday, with club teammate Kieran Trippier playing the full 90 minutes.

A disappointing performance from the Three Lions saw them miss out on the chance to guarantee top-spot in Group C, with similar issues resurfacing. Both goals came in the first-half, with Morten Hjulmand cancelling out Harry Kane’s early opener, but it was another evening that raised more questions than it answered.

Gareth Southgate named an unchanged side from the one that beat Serbia 1-0 on Sunday, handing Trippier a second Euro 2024 start at left-back and 50th international cap, while Gordon watched on from the bench again. And while the goal came a little later than in Gelsenkirchen, England took an early lead once again as Kyle Walker burst forward before his cut-back found Kane, who finished comfortably.

But familiar problems seemed to surface as England started to drop deep and allow Denmark back into the game, with sloppy passes and poor pressing a continued issue as the first-half wore on. The Danes eventually got their deserved goal on 34 minutes, with midfielder Hjulmand firing off the inside of the post from 30-yards.

England’s second-half started much the same as the first-half ended, with hesitant play frustrating supporters. In a rare move after first introducing Conor Gallagher, Southgate made a triple substitution just past the hour mark but despite taking off the entire front three, there was no place for Gordon with Eberechi Eze and Jarrod Bowen out wide, while Ollie Watkins led the line.

Those changes did little to improve things in Frankfurt as England continued to struggle, counting themselves lucky to see Denmark's efforts missed. Gordon, who contributed to 21 Premier League goals for Newcastle last season, continued to watch on from the bench as England slogged out the final minutes for a disappointing draw.

"Very proud to get 50 caps for my country, but my main focus is the result - it wasn't there for us tonight,” Magpies defender Trippier told BBC Radio 5 Live after the full-time whistle. "Four points from two games and we know there is so much to improve on. We will stay calm, stay positive and stay together - that is the most important thing.

"We understand the supporters' frustration from the outside, but as a staff and a team we need to stay together. It is tournament football, it is difficult no matter who you play against. We know as players we can take it up so many levels. There is no need to panic, the performances we know we can do better. One game left in the group and we look forward to that one."

England are within touching distance of a place in the last-16, with the draw keeping them top of Group C on four points. Denmark and Slovenia are both on two points with Serbia one one. England’s final group stage clash of the season is against Slovenia in Cologne on Tuesday evening.