While many England stars are worried, the 22-year-old player who has only played 249 minutes is sure to qualify for the World Cup.

TPO - Coach Thomas Tuchel is building a promising England team without the biggest stars. And this makes Jude Bellingham, Jack Grealish or Cole Palmer have reason to worry when they are still called up. However, with Elliot Anderson, it is different. After only 249 minutes on the field, the 22-year-old player is almost guaranteed a starting position.

Gareth Southgate struggled to find a replacement for Kalvin Phillips in his final spell as England manager, and at EURO 2024 he tried to strike a balance in midfield by deploying Declan Rice as the deepest midfielder, partnered by Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Gallagher and Kobbie Mainoo.

Under Thomas Tuchel, the German tactician found a more effective solution. He preferred to use Rice in a more advanced midfield position in a 4-2-3-1 formation, allowing the Arsenal player to move forward and influence attacks more. So Tuchel needed another 'number 6'.

He initially targeted Adam Wharton, but the Crystal Palace midfielder's injury in September's squad opened the door for Elliot Anderson. After three games and 249 minutes of playing time, the Nottingham Forest man is exactly what Tuchel needs in his quest to win the 2026 World Cup.

Thomas Tuchel hands Anderson his cap on his England debut.

The German strategist clearly understands that to form a world champion team, a conductor like Andrea Pirlo of Italy in 2006, Xavi of Spain in 2010 or Toni Kroos of Germany in 2014 is needed. That is a player rarely produced in England, who can control the central area as a deep-lying playmaker, developing the play from the back.

Then Tuchel found Anderson. The 22-year-old has a versatile skill set built on physicality, ball control, sharp vision and plenty of stamina. He can also play as a No. 6, No. 8 or No. 10, idolises Kevin De Bruyne and has been dubbed the “Geordie Maradona” (Tyneside’s Maradona).

In his debut against Andorra (England won 2-0), Anderson moved comfortably in front of the defense, always putting himself in a good position to receive the ball and immediately moving forward. In this match, he made 114 passes with an accuracy of up to 93.8%. With the passes that went wrong, most of them were resolved by quickly winning the ball back. Similar to the recent win against Wales, Anderson's pass success rate was 96.1% (74/77), creating 2 chances and recovering the ball 6 times. Anderson's statistics in the Premier League 2025/26 are also impressive. He has the most passes on the opponent's field (244) and the best ball recovery (47).

It would not be a surprise if Anderson gets a place at the 2026 World Cup.

Tuchel was clearly pleased with his discovery . He has repeatedly praised Anderson publicly, saying that "he is an excellent player, strong and mobile, who makes the difference in both attack and defence, both breaking up play and collapsing the opposition's defence with his passes."

Another detail that pleased Tuchel was his student's quick adaptation to the national team jersey, the international competition atmosphere as well as dealing with the pressure on the field. Anderson did everything well with "talent and humility", according to Tuchel's explanation.

The 52-year-old is determined to carve out a path to fulfil England’s World Cup dream. There may not be any stars on that path, but there is certainly room for “talented and humble” youngsters like Anderson.

Source: https://tienphong.vn/trong-khi-nhieu-ngoi-sao-tuyen-anh-lo-lang-cau-thu-tre-22-tuoi-moi-ra-san-249-phut-lai-chac-suat-du-world-cup-post1786494.tpo