Anthony Gordon compared to Lamine Yamal as Czechia boss hails Barcelona star

Anthony Gordon has received huge praise from Czech Republic manager Santi Denia, who believes the Barcelona winger is operating at a similar level to Lamine Yamal.

Gordon joined Barcelona from Newcastle United during the summer and has made an impressive start in Spain. His performances for England have also caught the attention of Denia ahead of Tuesday’s Nations League meeting between the two countries.

The Spanish coach knows plenty about developing elite young talent after spending years working within Spain’s national-team system.

Speaking to The Guardian, Denia was asked about Gordon’s recent claim that England should develop their own identity rather than attempting to imitate Spain.

His response quickly turned into major praise for the 25-year-old.

“Gordon? What a player!” Denia said. “What a player, my God. He is at the same level as... I don’t know, I want to say Lamine.”

Denia believes Gordon possesses many of the qualities that have made Yamal one of world football’s biggest stars.

“Young, daring, one-on-one, fast,” he added. “And what a great job English football has done producing players like him.”

Denia spent years helping Spain restructure their youth system and won the European Under-17 Championship in 2017 before guiding the country to Olympic gold in 2024.

He believes England should continue developing their own footballing identity rather than simply copying Spain’s success.

“Every country has its own essence, which you have to respect and embrace,” Denia explained.

“You can’t change overnight either; success doesn’t just happen, it’s a process.”

The Czechia boss nevertheless believes national associations should study successful systems elsewhere and take lessons from them.

“That’s not copying, that’s learning,” he said.

Denia went even further with his praise of England, placing Thomas Tuchel’s side among the strongest international teams in football.

“England are very, very good,” he said. “They are not far away from a World Cup final. Really not.”

“England are among the two or three best teams in the world, always.”

The comments arrive before England and Czechia meet again on Tuesday evening.

England won their recent meeting in Prague 2-0, with Gordon getting on the scoresheet. Now the Barcelona winger will have another opportunity to justify Denia’s enormous comparison with Yamal.

Gordon will hope his excellent form continues when England face Czechia in their next Nations League fixture.

His move to Barcelona has already placed him alongside some of the biggest names in European football, but Denia’s comparison with Yamal represents particularly significant praise.

Another influential performance for England would only strengthen the argument that Gordon has taken another major step forward since leaving Newcastle.