Thomas Tuchel suggested that he will start Elliot Anderson against Serbia after the Nottingham Forest midfielder enjoyed a promising debut as England’s No 6 in their 2-0 win over Andorra.
Anderson was one of the biggest positives for Tuchel on an evening when his side took another step towards earning qualification for next summer’s World Cup. The 22-year-old’s positive passing and physicality caught the eye at Villa Park, suggesting that he can fill a problem position in midfield for England, and he is in line to play again when England face Serbia in Belgrade on Tuesday night.
“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.”
England top Group K with four wins from four but they laboured at times against a stubborn Andorra side. It took an own-goal from Christian García and a header from Declan Rice to settle a dull game but Tuchel was pleased with his side’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.
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“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.”
Tuchel backed England to cope with a rise in quality against Serbia. Victory on Tuesday could leave them eight points clear at the top of the group.
“Now we will prove a point in Belgrade,” Tuchel said. “The way is to win and to be tough. In the circumstances we expect a very emotional stadium, we expect an emotional crowd. We don’t know what the pitch looks like. Make no excuses. And then we come up against a very physical team.
“We have to step up and adapt to the circumstances, adapt to the opponent and then prove the point we are a strong group and we are on the right way because I feel like we had an excellent five days now. It’s two days to prepare for Tuesday and hopefully prove the point that we are ready for that. Adapt to what’s coming, accept the physicality, accept the adversity and get another win.”
