England winger Anthony Gordon has described being sworn at by then Mexico manager Javier Aguirre during their World Cup clash as “just a bit of fun.”
The incident occurred during a first-half hydration break at the Azteca Stadium, where England secured a dramatic 3-2 victory in their last-16 tie.
Aguirre was seen speaking to England midfielder Jude Bellingham before turning his attention to Gordon near the touchline, directing an explicit remark at the forward.
Both men were seen laughing after the exchange, and the moment quickly spread across social media platforms following the match.
Gordon, who moved from Newcastle United to Barcelona this summer, says he took the comment in good spirit given the context of the game.
“I remembered it,” said Gordon. “It’s just a bit of fun. With all the heat and tension around the game, it was a bit of fun.”
The Newcastle-born winger believes the remark was actually a sign of respect from the experienced 67-year-old coach, given what had just happened on the pitch.
“I’d just run the full-back down the line so it was a bit of a compliment from him. That’s how I took it anyway,” Gordon added.
The viral exchange was one of several widely-shared moments from the match, alongside Harry Kane’s post-match interview after losing his voice and John Stones pretending to be injured.
Bellingham scored twice to put England 2-0 up before Julian Quinones pulled one back for the co-hosts, with Jarell Quansah then receiving a red card to reduce England to ten men.
Kane converted a penalty to restore England’s two-goal cushion, before Raul Jimenez converted a spot-kick of his own to set up a tense finale that England ultimately survived.
England now face Norway in the quarter-finals on Saturday, 11 July, with kick-off scheduled for 22:00 BST.
Aguirre, whose 31-year managerial career has included spells at Atletico Madrid, Mallorca and Espanyol, has since departed his role and been replaced by Rafael Marquez.
Gordon spoke warmly of the veteran manager, revealing the touchline banter was part of a broader dialogue between Aguirre and the England players throughout the contest.
“He seemed like a good guy, he was talking to me and Jude throughout the game,” Gordon said. “There was a lot of tension in the game so to speak to me and Jude, I quite liked it.”
