Gordon & Mainoo revealed England stars they’d choose in their five-a-side teams

Anthony Gordon and Kobbie Mainoo have revealed the England stars they’d choose in their five-a-side teams, with both players picking the same team.

It’s been a whirlwind week for the two young stars, with Gordon, 23, and Mainoo, 18, both being drafted into Gareth Southgate’s senior squad for the first time in their careers.

The Newcastle winger revealed to Mail Sport earlier this month that he was refusing to book a summer holiday in hopes that he could receive a call up for this summer’s Euros in Germany.

Despite that, both players could make their debuts in the coming days with England set to take on Brazil on Saturday at Wembley before they play Belgium on Tuesday.

But ahead of the matches, Gordon and Mainoo picked which of their team-mates they’d chose to feature in their England five-a-side teams, but there were several big omissions from their starting line-ups.

Gordon named his team first, opting to put his former Everton team-mate Jordan Pickford in goal.

Moving on to defence, the Newcastle winger firstly opted for Kyle Walker at centre-back, before changing his mind.

‘Centre back I’ll go Kyle Walker,’ he said before reversing his decision. ‘Ah John Stones!’

‘I’m going to go with Stonesy, the best ball-playing centre back in the world,’ he said.

He later said: ‘The reason I was thinking about Walks [Kyle Walker] was because you cannot get past him. So like in a five-a-side, he gives you the little forearm and then that’s you. He’s so strong and so quick.

‘I just think John Stones on the ball…’

Mainoo interjected: ‘He’s smooth, he’s too smooth.’

Gareth Southgate is perhaps blessed with a wealth of extremely talented options in midfield, but the decision was a clear one for Gordon, who said: ‘In midfield, I’m going to pick Phil [Foden] and Jude [Bellingham] – I think that decision speaks for itself.’

And for his striker, the Liverpool-born footballer chose Harry Kane, claiming: ‘He’d score from anywhere on the pitch – even if it was five-a-side.’

The question was then passed to Mainoo, who was challenged to see if his side could beat Gordon’s. But the Man United star shook his head while laughing, saying ‘I don’t think it’s any different though! He’s taken it from me!’

While the pair both named a very strong team, it seems there was no room for Arsenal star Bukayo Saka nor his team-mate Declan Rice in the squad.

It was revealed on Thursday that Saka had left the England camp with an unspecified injury, with Southgate now revealing that Harry Kane, Cole Palmer and Jordan Henderson will all miss their game against Brazil.

‘Tomorrow [Saturday], no Harry Kane, no Jordan Henderson and no Cole Palmer,’ Southgate said.

‘I would say Cole and Hendo have a better chance of Belgium than Harry [Kane]. He would be extremely doubtful for that.’

Despite that, he added that their absences could present opportunities for some of the younger stars rising through the ranks.

‘It’s a brilliant opportunity for other players,’ Southgate added.

‘We need to see them ahead of the Euros. From our perspective it’s a great exercise and opportunity.’

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