*Former* Newcastle midfielder Elliot Anderson was a huge plus for Thomas Tuchel vs Andorra in the search for a solution to England\u2019s biggest problem ahead of the World Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt might be a bit early,\u201d Lee Dixon said 11 minutes into Elliot Anderson\u2019s England debut.\u201dBut it looks like he\u2019s played there forever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Might be a bit early Lee, yeah, particularly in a game that\u2019s the international equivalent of a clash between a Premier League side (which one clearly isn\u2019t important) and non-league opposition. But with the phones of England fans up and down the country poised to deliver social media barbs begging ITV for the 427th time to reconsider their commentary lineup, Dixon produced the sort of all-timer there would be no coming back from, assuming he doesn\u2019t actually have what we\u2019ve long assumed is an extensive collection of blackmail materials ready to use against the broadcaster\u2019s bosses to keep him in the job this long.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cI saw him against Leeds last week and he was absolutely ran the show in midfield for Newcastle.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The Newcastle\/Nottingham Forest mix-up is excusable. He may have been watching Anderson \u201crun the game\u201d for Forest last week \u2013 unlikely though that seems in a 3-0 defeat to West Ham \u2013 and just said the wrong club under pressure in the commentary box. We can accept a slip of the tongue.<\/p>\n
But specifically mentioning Newcastle\u2019s opponents in Leeds makes it a gloriously exposing porky pie. \u2018Hello,\u2019 Dixon wrote on X on August 8. \u2018Been offline for 2 years!!\u2019 We wouldn\u2019t stick around if we were you, pal.<\/p>\n
The Arsenal legend was fortunate in that his predetermined display of Anderson quality vs Andorra did actually come to pass. He was arguably England\u2019s player, which would be far less of a boon in a 2-0 win over Andorra if he wasn\u2019t playing in England\u2019s problem position.<\/p>\n
This was never going to be a game in which the defensive aspect of his No.6 role was going to be really tested. But he made comfortably more ball recoveries (15) than any other player, crucially, for an England team set to dominate the majority of their opponents in terms of possession, displaying the sort of awareness \u2013 often misconstrued as some sort of sixth sense or even good fortune \u2013 required of a defensive midfielder for a fully-functioning rest defence. He knows where to be when England have the ball to snuff out counter-attacks.<\/p>\n
MORE ENGLAND COVERAGE ON F365<\/strong>
\ud83d\udc49\u00a0England, Guehi, Levy, Martinez, Gyokeres and ABSOLUTELY NO NET SPEND<\/a><\/strong>
\ud83d\udc49 The multinational stars England may lose in eligibility fights include Liverpool pair and Arsenal teenager<\/a><\/strong>
\ud83d\udc49 Mason Greenwood worth the England \u2018distraction\u2019 for Tuchel after a Harry Kane injury?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nAgain, truer tests of his ability to control the game from that position are yet to come \u2013 he will feel the pressure far more away in Serbia on Tuesday, for example. But it was refreshing to see someone playing in that role whose first thought is to zip passes into the feet of those ahead of him or look for runners in behind, while also looking for opportunities to force mistakes in the final third, as he did when nicking the ball from one of the Andorra centre-backs before being denied a debut goal by the goalkeeper.<\/p>\n