Tuchel indicates to Anderson starting for England vs Serbia after his impressive performance vs Andorra yesterday.
Thomas Tuchel hints Elliot Anderson will start for England in Serbia.
After Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson made a strong debut as England’s No. 6 in their 2-0 victory over Andorra, Thomas Tuchel hinted that he will start Anderson against Serbia.
One of Tuchel’s greatest assets on a night when his team advanced one step closer to qualifying for the World Cup the following summer was Anderson. The 22-year-old is expected to feature again when England plays Serbia in Belgrade on Tuesday night after attracting attention at Villa Park with his positive passing and physicality, which suggested he may cover a troublesome midfield position for England.
Tuchel on Anderson’s performance
“He’s just a very, very good football player,” Tuchel said. “He has the physicality, he’s very mobile at No 6. He has the body, he loves to defend, he loves to put his body inside to duels. He loves passing, he loves to break the lines, he’s very mobile in this game. It was a pleasure to see.
“I think the team around him made it as easy as possible for him and he had a very strong performance. I think he showed today that he adapts to the situation. Can he show what he showed in training? Can he show what he showed with Nottingham and the under-21s? He played with a lot of freedom. He was very quickly in the flow. I think he has the physicality and he has the mindset to play in more difficult games. And for this performance he is clearly in the mix to play in Serbia.”
On England’s performances
With four wins out of four, England leads Group K, but they occasionally struggled against a resolute Andorra team. Christian García’s own goal and Declan Rice’s header ended a drab match, but Tuchel was happy with his team’s performance.
“We’re getting there,” the German said. “It was a lot of learning for me. International football is so different from club football. But we are getting there, I’m very positive about the group that was in camp now and how they presented themselves, how they behaved, how they trained and how we played today. I am absolutely convinced that we are on the right path. It’s always on us to prove it.”
Tuchel insisted that Marcus Rashford, who has not scored for England in almost two years, can shine on the left flank. “He’s clearly a left winger,” he said. “He had the freedom today to go a bit more inside. He had an excellent training week and it was obvious that we want him to start because he trained so, so well on the left side.
“I can see that he tries, this is for me the most important [thing]. He trains at the moment with the right attitude, with a smile and with a lot of quality. He struggles a bit with numbers and with the ‘wow’ performance in an England shirt, I agree. But as long as he trains like he did and behaves and is active and alive in the group, then we will always trust him and push him and support him.”