Gordon: Kane and Yamal both have strong reasons to contend for the Ballon d'Or, and I wish them luck

On Wednesday, local time, Gordon attended England's pre-match press conference ahead of their match against Spain. In the first part of the press conference (which we have divided into five parts due to its length), he shared his thoughts on Kane and Yamal.

Gordon, it's great to see you.

It's great to see you.

Especially since we don't often see you in England these days, it's great to see you back. First, I'd like to talk about the World Cup. It feels like this tournament was a breakthrough for you; your performance and experience were truly remarkable.

Thank you.

From the team's perspective, there were peaks and toughs.

Yes.

I want to ask you about your feelings regarding the semi-final loss. You scored a brilliant goal in the World Cup semi-final, and it's hard to imagine how exhilarating that moment was. We all saw what happened next. Tuchel said that loss left him with an indelible wound.

That's right.

Do you think you can move past that pain?

To be honest, I don't think I can. I believe that losing anything precious in life, whether it's a person, a game, or anything you desperately strive for—once lost, you are never the same person you were before.

Pain leaves scars, but scars are not necessarily negative. You can use them to become a better person, to learn a lot about the world and about yourself. That's how I see it. I hope that the team and I can grow from it, rather than be defeated by it.

Well said. The Ballon d'Or nominations are coming soon. It's said that Kane is the top favorite, with Yamal in second place. So we want to ask: who better than you to comment on these two players?

I'm not the right person.

So what are your thoughts?

To be honest, it's hard for me to comment because I'm not at their level yet, but like everyone else, I'm a fan of both players. In my opinion, based on their achievements, the ultimate winner will definitely be one of them. Yamal has achieved so much at such a young age; his ability is incredible, completely on another level at this stage. It's insane for a 19-year-old to perform like that.

Do you think he is currently the best player in the world?

I think so. In terms of pure individual ability, he is undoubtedly number one in my mind. But if you look at last season's performance, Kane is also extremely competitive. He had an epic season, with his goal-scoring record and his contributions to us in the World Cup. Both have strong reasons to contend for the award, and I wish them both good luck.

Once again, regarding the World Cup semi-final loss to Argentina, the most discussed topics were the team's mentality and on-field performance. Some believe that your substitution might have been the turning point when the team started to retreat defensively. From your perspective, how do you view the team's mentality at that time? Do you think the tactics were too conservative, or was it a situation dictated by circumstances?

It's hard to draw a simple conclusion. This very approach helped us win the first two games. People tend to stick with what has worked. If it works, why change it? The match against Mexico was the best football experience of my life. But to some extent, that game also shaped our thinking.

After the red card, we showed another side: instead of focusing on possession, we fought with all our might and ultimately secured the victory. But in the next two games, we relied too heavily on this mindset, and it ultimately didn't work in the semi-final. But then again, even if we had stuck with a four-man defense, we might not have won. Everything always looks clearer in hindsight.

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