​When Anthony Gordon burst onto the scene as a Liverpool schoolboy, he looked untouchable on the football field. Teachers and coaches at his former schools would recall how they’d tell other players to just “give it to Gordo” and let the skinny, lightning-quick prodigy do the rest. Now, at 25, the Barcelona winger isn’t just living his dream at the world’s highest level—he’s also delivering standout displays at the World Cup for England and inspiring the next generation of players who train on the same pitches he once did.
Matty Deeney, head of the school at Wade Deacon High in Widnes, where Gordon studied from Year 10, said it’s a powerful sight for the pupils to see a World Cup quarter-finalist from their community. He added that any child, whether they’re drawn to sport or any other pursuit, can see what can be achieved through hard work and ambition. Gordon was born in Norris Green, Liverpool, before moving to Walton, where he first attended Alsop High School.
After an early setback when Liverpool released him, he found a new path in Everton’s academy, where a pre-existing link between the club and Wade Deacon facilitated his transfer at the start of Year 10. Since then, Gordon has amassed more than 200 appearances for Everton and Newcastle, along with 23 senior England caps since 2024.
Seven-year-old pupil Belle said Gordon’s success serves as a real inspiration. Jon Weights, the former head of PE at Alsop, remembered the boy who went by “Gordo” as unbeatable on the pitch, often scoring “bags and bags of goals.” “With Gordo, what really stood out was his drive and mindset,” Weights noted. “He wasn’t the biggest, and there were other players as quick as him, but that never deterred him—it fueled him. He had an inner drive that, in hindsight, I probably didn’t fully appreciate at the time.”
Weights, who also coached Gordon when he played for the Liverpool Schools Football Association, added that Gordon’s single-minded focus on football sometimes came at the expense of his other studies. He joked about how, during Gordon’s recent move to Barcelona, the player appeared in Spanish, a language Gordon hadn’t concentrated on in school, reflecting how everything was about football for him back then.
Another former Alsop PE teacher, Steven Griffin—who managed the school’s football team—recalled Gordon as a lively student determined to reach the top of the sport. “He focused his efforts on making football happen, choosing that path rather than following the academic route,” Griffin said, describing how Gordon would clock seven or eight goals in a single game.