BOUNCING BACK England star reveals three-word motto born out of BASKETBALL Three Lions used to finally overcome DR Congo in World Cup

ANTHONY GORDON never thought England would lose to DR Congo, even at 1-0 down.

That is thanks to the “pound the rock” mentality instilled into this Three Lions team by Thomas Tuchel. Sitting on the bench, Gordon, 25, watched on as Noni Madueke and Marcus Rashford continually looked to take on current and former West Ham full-backs Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Arthur Masuaku, with little to no joy.

When Tuchel made a double change to replace them with Gordon and Bukayo Saka, that was when the game turned, and it was part of Tuchel’s half-time plan.

Gordon would go on to supply two assists for captain Harry Kane, whose brace secured a 2-1 comeback win over the African outfit.

Asked if he ever thought England would lose, and what the manager said to the players at half-time, Gordon revealed: “I never thought they were going to beat us, I knew we would win. “It’s going to be difficult for anyone to beat us, and if they do, then they will deserve it.

Gordon continued, “We have a saying, it’s to ‘pound the rock’.

“You have a big rock in front of you, and you keep pounding it until cracks appear; that’s what Noni and Rashy did.

“They’ve come off, and they won’t see any of the headlines or success, but it’s their hard work in the first half, to grind the fullbacks down, that allows me to come off the bench when they’re a bit tired and give it to Harry to score.” The phrase was made famous in the NBA, with the San Antonio Spurs adopting a version of it to inspire their 2014 title win.

Despite coming on and making the difference with two assists for Kane, Gordon will be hoping not to be on the bench again when England face Mexico at the Azteca Stadium on Sunday.

He added: “I hate being a sub.

“I’m a nervous wreck as a sub, I head and kick every ball. I try not to; I try to be calm, but I can’t help it.

“The lads who started the game ground them down, and I felt like when I came on, they were tired.

“Usually in that situation I’d try and shoot or do a bit of skill, but having Harry in the team dictated my decision, I knew he was in there somewhere, and he was.”