England Keeper to Face His Dad as Powerchair World Cup Begins
England goalkeeper Chris Gordon is going to a World Cup to try to beat his dad.
England face hosts Argentina on Sunday in Buenos Aires at the Powerchair Football World Cup. Argentina are coached by Colin Gordon, Chris's father, in a tie that puts family bragging rights on the line, BBC Sport reports.
Powerchair football is four-a-side football played in powered wheelchairs. It is played by people with impairments including muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy and spinal muscular atrophy. The chairs do the running. Skill, positioning and teamwork do the rest.
For Chris, this is familiar territory. He is playing at his fourth World Cup for England. His father knows the England side just as well, because he led them to the final of the 2023 World Cup, where they lost on penalties to France.
The two have been on the same side before. They worked together at West Brom and with the England national powerchair team. Colin first got involved in the sport through his son, after a career of his own as a professional striker with Birmingham City, Fulham and Leicester City in the 1980s and 90s, followed by a spell as a football agent.
Now they are on opposite benches. Colin, a coach with WBA PFC, West Bromwich Albion's powerchair club, has spent the past 18 months as head coach of Argentina, according to West Bromwich Albion.
The tournament starts on Saturday with the final on Friday 23 October. All matches will be streamed live on YouTube. Ten teams are taking part, including hosts Argentina, Uruguay, Australia and Japan.
England arrive among the favourites alongside France and the USA. Head coach Adam McEvoy has blended youth and experience. The squad includes 17-year-old Dan McLellan, already at his second World Cup, and captain Jon Bolding, heading to his fifth. England won the Euros in 2019 and were narrowly denied the world title two years ago. Marcus Harrison and Dylan Kelsall were also named in England's squad for the tournament, England Football confirmed.
Chris is in no doubt about Sunday. He told BBC Sport that England will beat Argentina, and that bragging rights will be coming his way.
What makes this stand out is how ordinary the rivalry feels. A son winding up his dad before a big game. A father who learned the sport because his boy played it, now trying to stop him winning. Ninety minutes in Buenos Aires, and then family again.
