England squad: Anderson gets first call-up as Alexander-Arnold and Grealish miss out; Rashford in
Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson gets his first senior England call-up as Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jack Grealish miss out.
The 22-year-old has been a central figure since joining Forest from Newcastle United in 2024, playing a major role in the club qualifying for Europe for the first time in three decades.
He featured in all but one of their Premier League games last season, scoring twice and setting up six more.
Anderson has started the new campaign similarly, playing every minute of Forest’s opening fixtures.
His driving run and pass created Chris Wood’s winner against Brentford, while Thomas Tuchel was in attendance as he impressed again in the 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace last weekend.
International recognition has been a long time coming for Anderson. Born in Whitley Bay, he represented Scotland at youth level and was even called up by Steve Clarke in 2023 before withdrawing through injury.
He later committed his future to England and became a fixture in the Under-21 squad, helping them win the European Championship this summer and earning a place in UEFA’s team of the tournament.
His rise has been steady rather than sudden. Anderson first joined Newcastle at the age of eight, signing his first professional deal in 2019 before making his senior debut in the FA Cup against Arsenal two years later.
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A loan spell with Bristol Rovers in 2022 accelerated his progress. He scored seven goals in 21 appearances and was memorably compared to Diego Maradona by Joey Barton. Anderson (pictured below) scored the Gas’ seventh and promotion-sealing goal against Scunthorpe.
On his return to Newcastle, Anderson began to establish himself in the first team but found consistent minutes harder to come by.
His £35m move to Forest in July 2024 was in part driven by Newcastle’s need to balance the books, but it quickly proved to be inspired business for the Midlands club.
He became their player of the month almost immediately and by January had netted his first Premier League goal in a 3-2 win over Southampton.
Tuchel has so far leaned on Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham, Jordan Henderson and Curtis Jones in midfield during competitive games. Conor Gallagher has also featured.
With Bellingham sidelined through injury, Anderson has stepped into the squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia next month.
Alexander-Arnold and Grealish were notable absentees from the official squad announcement, while Marcus Rashford, who is on loan at Barcelona made Tuchel’s squad.
England face Andorra at Villa Park on September 6 before travelling to Belgrade on September 9.
Tuchel’s side have won all three of their opening Group K fixtures and sit top of the standings.
England squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, James Trafford, Dean Henderson
Defenders: Reece James, Marc Guehi, John Stones, Dan Burn, Ezri Konsa, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Tino Livramento, Djed Spence
Midfielders: Elliot Anderson, Morgan Gibbs-White, Jordan Henderson, Adam Wharton, Morgan Rogers, Declan Rice
Forwards: Harry Kane, Eberechi Eze, Jarrod Bowen, Anthony Gordon, Noni Madueke, Marcus Rashford, Ollie Watkins