Alan Shearer Exclusive: England are seeing the Anthony Gordon that Newcastle only glimpsed

England have made decent start in Nations League

Spain are the best in the world. I thought England did okay against them last Saturday, but for the first 20 minutes they gave a lot of chances away and Spain could have scored two or three.

In the main, it's been pretty positive the last two games for England and Tuchel. I've been in those scenarios on Tuesday night against Czechia, when you got to a country where you're expected to win on the back of a defeat, and they make it tough for you.

It would have been a more interesting game, and the players would have gotten more out of if it, had it stayed 11 v 11 because you knew what was going to happen once it went to 10 v 11.

Barcelona move is bringing out best in Gordon

Anthony Gordon did really well for England against Czechia. He was the pick of the bunch. Him and Lewis Hall down the left-hand-side have a really good understanding.

We saw a glimpse at Newcastle of how good Gordon could turn out to be. I also probably looked at him and thought that he wanted to leave. We could tell that, but he looks as if he's got loads of energy and an appetite for where he is now.

You can tell from his performances that he is happy with the move he made in the summer, whereas we probably didn't see that enough last season at Newcastle. That is fine, you're always entitled to go and do what you want to do in your career, and Gordon now looks as if he's in a happy place, both with England and with Barcelona.

Hall can nail down England left-back spot

Lewis Hall can make the left-back spot at England his own. He's a very, very talented player and he's brilliant going forward. England have got two quality players in that position but Nico O'Reilly is different from what Hall can offer you. O'Reilly can play in midfield as well.

What might give Hall the edge for England is his understanding with Gordon. We didn't see that in the summer at the World Cup, obviously, but I think that was the big thing to come out of Tuesday's game - the understanding between those two.

Obviously, they know each other very well having played together at Newcastle. So, the rapport and the understanding is there between them and that's what I would take from the Czechia game, maybe more than anything.

Trent's attacking ability is asset for England

Trent Alexander-Arnold played well against Czechia too. There's going to be times where England are struggling in games and Trent can help them. Tuesday was the perfect scenario for Trent.

England didn't get tested defensively in Pargue because of the red card, but in terms of Trent unlocking a door when England needed it most just after half time, that's what he is brilliant at. It was a great cross and a very good header from Anthony Gordon. 

Maybe defensively there are question marks with Trent, I get that, but I also try to look on the more positive side of what he can give us going forward, what he can do with the ball.

He's particularly effective in games like Tuesday's when you know it's going to be tough against stubborn opponents who get everyone behind the ball. That's when you're looking for his greatest quality to come out with a pass, a cross or just a piece of magic to unlock that door.

Maybe Trent is not who England need against Spain, or other teams of their calibre, because you're going to be tested more defensively. But in terms of his ball-play, there's not many better than Trent when he has the ball. That is probably what the manager was thinking against the Czechia. 

Croatia v England match prediction - Three Lions can edge familiar opponents

Rio Ngumoha did really well when he came on and looked really lively. So, yes, there have been positives for England in the two games so far.

It was interesting that Tuchel gave James Trafford the two games. Pickford is set to to play the next two games but Trafford didn't let England down. So there were positives in the two games but there's still work to do in certain areas. Defensively, there are one or two issues.

Taking everything I have seen from the two England games so far during this international break, I'm going to go for a tight 2-1 win for England against Croatia on Saturday. 

It's some achievement for superstar Modric to be playing at 41

Luka Modric is a superstar, I just love his attitude. He doesn't say much, just gets on with it and he has been a quality player for years.

It's some achievement to still be going at 41, let alone playing for your country but I guess it's for someone to come and kick him out in terms of being better than him. Just the way he's handled the ball over the years has been phenomenal. What a career. It's been amazing.

Klopp to make Germany Euros and World Cup contenders? I'd be surprised

The big question Klopp has to answer after taking over as Germany manager is, can he bring them back to being a powerhouse in international football? He's come in at a time when German football isn't at its best. I covered them a couple of times in the World Cup, where they crashed out in the round of 32, and they were really poor.

I don't think they're blessed with great players. They've got one or two very, very good players, but I'd be surprised if Klopp was to get them back to the top level, competing for Euros and for World Cups.

I don't see that happening for a while because they have not got the talent that you need to be tournament contenders, despite how great Klopp is as a manager.

Wirtz may never fulfill his potential at Liverpool

Liverpool are still yet to see the best of Florian Wirtz. We've seen it in patches, but we haven't seen him go on a run to that would make us say: "Wow, this guy is some player and that's why they spent huge money on him." 

Whether he will make a big impact at Liverpool, we'll have to wait and see. I'm not sure it will happen. You don't get the time to do what you want to do on the ball in the Premier League because it's gung-ho.

There's no doubt there's a brilliant talent there. Whether we'll see that on a regular basis for Liverpool, I'm not sure.

Now read Alan Shearer on why Man City deserve every punishment they receive