Gordon: I was excited to play alongside Arnold, and the Real Madrid star responds

Barcelona winger Anthony Gordon has praised his England team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold after the Three Lions beat the Czech Republic 2-0 on Tuesday evening in the second round of the UEFA Nations League.

Gordon told ITV after the game: "I think the match was good, and we clearly controlled it. We could have scored more goals at the end, perhaps we had enough quality in the final attacking third. There are some things we need to work on, we need to control the flow of play, press hard, and settle matches decisively."

The winger opened the scoring himself, meeting an outstanding cross from the Real Madrid full-back and steering a well-placed header away from the Czech goalkeeper to hand England the lead.

On the goal and Alexander-Arnold's pass, the Barcelona star explained, as reported by the " BBC " network: "I make that run over and over again, and few players have the ability, the technique and the courage to risk making a mistake while attempting that pass. That is why he is an excellent player, and that is why I was eager to play with him."

He continued: "He has been on his own journey with England. He would have wished to play more than he did, but he was a great character during this camp, I really enjoyed being with him."

Alexander-Arnold, meanwhile, told ITV: "I think it was good, they played with ten men, which increased the pressure on us to win the match, but in reality, that made the matter more difficult, as they became more compact and defensive. It is very hard to break down their defence. But we succeeded in doing so early in the second half, and that is what we needed."

On his decisive pass, he added, according to the " BBC " network: "I spoke to you (Anthony Gordon) in the first half and told him that if I was going to get into those spaces, make sure you get to the far post, don't expect the ball to arrive that quickly, but it arrived and it worked."

Playing alongside Gordon, he commented: "It is a great honour, and it is wonderful to play with him. I tried to get the ball and try to find the best way to play, and try to move forward and create chances. And I managed to get the assist."

On his return to the England national team, he concluded: "It is a great honour, representing my country is a great honour. I have always wished to play for England, and that is what I believed in, and it was about proving that at club level. The coach gave me a chance, and I hope he is satisfied with my performance."