England star proved he's undroppable for Thomas Tuchel after 'faultless' display vs Serbia
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Credit: Imago
Harri Burton
Tue 9 September 2025 22:15, UK
Thomas Tuchel is currently trying to work out which players should be on the England plane for the 2026 World Cup.
Tuchel completely axed Myles Lewis-Skelly from England’s squad to face Serbia on Tuesday, 9 September, a decision which came as a surprise after the Arsenal full-back played 90 minutes against Andorra.
Clearly, the head coach has no problem making the cut-throat decisions as the Three Lions prepare for a very important tournament across in America, Mexico, and Canada next year.
Harry Kane, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, and Jordan Pickford all appear undroppable due to their achievements with the national team, but beyond that, all other stars are fighting for their spots on the plane.
Credit: Imago
Elliot Anderson put in a Man of the Match performance against Andorra, and after another fine display against Serbia, he is quickly becoming difficult for Tuchel to ignore.
Anderson followed that display up superbly as England smashed Serbia 5-0 in Belgrade, and after their rout, Henry Winter wrote on X (September 9): “One of Elliot Anderson’s many strengths is that he rarely makes mistakes and, if he does, he doesn’t get distracted.
“He gave the ball away versus Serbia, he re-focused, and got on with the game.
Elite mindset.”
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Just two matches into his senior England career, and the 22-year-old is already being praised like someone who has been a member of the team for the last decade.
Elliot Anderson vs SerbiaStatistic (as per FotMob)Passing accuracy89% (75/84)Chances created1Touches93Recoveries8Ground duels won67% (4/6)Aerial duels won60% (3/5)Elliot Anderson’s performance against Serbia.
His statistics against Serbia speak for themselves, and if Tuchel has been watching across the board, it could be utterly impossible for the German to drop the Forest star from the lineup, let alone the squad.
Speaking after the win over Andorra [The Guardian], Tuchel was full of praise for the midfielder, saying: “He’s just a very, very good football player.
“He has the body, he loves to defend, he loves to put his body in duels.
He loves passing, he loves to break the lines, he’s very mobile in this game.
It was a pleasure to see.”
It is absolutely brilliant to see a young player given the chance to impress, take that by the scruff of the neck, and leave the pitch with his head held high after quite a frustrating night for the Three Lions.
While the 5-0 win was far more refreshing on Tuesday night, Anderson did not fly under the radar at all, and if anything, his performance was more notable as he allowed the attackers to roam freely.