England winger Anthony Gordon says being sworn at by Mexico boss Javier Aguirre in a viral moment of their World Cup match was “just a bit of fun” and a “compliment”.
During a first-half hydration break, Aguirre first spoke to midfielder Jude Bellingham before calling out to Gordon when they were both close to the touchline during England’s dramatic 3-2 win in the last 16 at the Azteca Stadium.
The 67-year-old then shouted an explicit remark to the forward before both of them laughed.
“I remembered it,” said Gordon, who moved from Newcastle United to Barcelona this summer. “It’s just a bit of fun.
“With all the heat and tension around the game, it was a bit of fun.
“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.”
It was one of several funny moments from the match widely shared on social media including Harry Kane’s post-match interview after losing his voice and England defender John Stones pretending he was injured.
Bellingham scored twice to put England 2-0 up before Julian Quinones pulled a goal back for the World Cup co-hosts.
Jarell Quansah was red-carded for England, who restored their two-goal advantage through a Kane penalty.
Raul Jimenez put away a Mexico spot-kick to make it 3-2 before England held on during a tense finale to secure a quarter-final against Norway on Saturday, 11 July (22:00 BST).
Aguirre, who has previously led Atletico Madrid, Mallorca and Espanyol over a 31-year managerial career, has since left his post and been replaced by Rafael Marquez.
“He seemed like a good guy, he was talking to me and Jude throughout the game,” Gordon added.
“There was a lot of tension in the game so to speak to me and Jude, I quite liked it.”