Declan Rice praises England teammate who ‘made it look easy’ in Serbia win | Football

Declan Rice is impressed at how quickly Elliot Anderson has settled into international football after his second impressive display for England in a matter of days.

The Nottingham Forest midfielder earned his maiden call-up to the senior side this international break after an impressive league campaign and a productive summer with England at the Under-21 Euros.

Anderson was one of the few players to impress in an otherwise drab 2-0 win over Andorra on Saturday, and put in another noteworthy display as England thumped Serbia 5-0 in Belgrade on Tuesday evening.

England have often lacked a holding midfielder in recent years, but the 22-year-old’s performances in that role will surely have him firmly in Thomas Tuchel’s plans for future camps in the build-up to next summer’s World Cup.

And Rice is clearly keen to play more international football alongside Anderson after his fruitful start to life in an England shirt.

‘He made it look so easy’ Rice told BBC Radio 5 Live when asked about Anderson’s performances over the international break.

‘He has done what he has been doing at his club for two years. He is a great addition to the squad. We need competition, and we need lads at their best.’

Asked about the importance of Tuesday’s rousing victory, the Arsenal midfielder added: ‘We knew it was going to be really tough coming here, but a five-star performance. We took control from the very first minute, and we needed that tonight.

‘The five wins, the first four games people have been wanting to see six and seven goals. It is never going to happen when teams camp 10 men behind the ball. The whole performance tonight from start to finish was top.

‘The mentality has been right all week, the attitude has been right. This was the big game this week and this puts us in a good position going forward.’

Four things we learned from England’s thumping win over Serbia

Some Mad options

Given England’s dominance over Serbia, it’s easy to forget they’re missing some of the first names on the team sheet.

Noni Madueke offered one of the few positive notes in the Andorra snorer and offered plenty again in Belgrade, with his first England goal a cracker. He’s only starting because Arsenal team-mate Bukayo Saka is injured.

Morgan Rogers showed some lovely touches (including a sublime flick in the build-up to Madueke’s goal) and, with Elliot Anderson again assured after an impressive debut at the weekend, it augurs well for the depth of Tuchel’s options.

Spot on for confidence

How important will Marcus Rashford’s late penalty prove? Matters not one iota in qualification terms, but some players are confidence players and Rashford seems to be one who hits peaks and troughs more than most.

Stepping in for spot-kick duties with Harry Kane given a breather on the bench, tucking away his first international goal for two years will do him the world of good. I’m still not really a fan of stuttery, pausey run-ups – just Julian Dicks it, lads – but he converted with aplomb.

Marc’s the man

Flagged by many as an example of why not to do the right thing after his transfer woes, Marc Guehi was his usual model-pro self, got his first England goal and told ITV post-match how much he always loves joining up with England.

No sign of a hangover from his deadline-day move to Liverpool collapsing – he just gets on with his job. Unflappable and rock solid. No wonder Liverpool want him and Palace want to keep him.

If the cap’s fit

Harry Kane’s still the main man for goals. Even when England are rubbish, he, more often than not, scores. England started well, but would it have been such a positive night had Kane not broken the deadlock?

Maybe, maybe not, but on past evidence there must be a chance another ten minutes without a goal may have let to frustration and the onset of that turgid inertia we all know too well.

We’ve all heard the ‘moves like he’s towing a caravan’ comments at major tournaments, but nobody knows the way to goal like him. If he’s fit, he starts at the World Cup.

Analysis from Dave Filmer, Metro Deputy Sport Editor

Tuchel, meanwhile, was also keen to laud Anderson’s performances over the break, but challenged to midfielder to back those levels up should he return for England’s next batch of fixtures in October.

‘Elliot deserved to be with us first of all because he did excellent for his club and the Under-21s,’ he told reporters post-match.

‘When I saw him perform in the U21s final I had the idea that maybe he can be a No6 and we can play to his strengths.

‘He was excellent in camp, like everyone else. The group made it as easy as they could for him, but he did all the effort that is needed and he had two excellent performances throughout.

‘Now it’s on him to keep it going and keep the lightness and the freedom that he needs for his game. He’s just a very good football player, and he was a very good teammate in camp.’

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