Gary Lineker has shared his ‘concern’ about England star Elliot Anderson, despite his ‘brilliant’ performance against Norway at the World Cup.
England have reached the semi-final stage of the World Cup for only the fourth time in their history following a nervy 2-1 win against Norway on Saturday night.
The Vikings took an early lead in Miami but once again Jude Bellingham was on hand to rescue the Three Lions, equalising shortly before the break before poking home the winner in extra-time.
Thomas Tuchel’s side will now face Lionel Messi’s Argentina on Wednesday for a place in the final against either France or Spain.
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Following a sensational performance in Mexico in the last-16, England were largely lacklustre against Norway, with several key stars struggling to make an impact.
Anderson was not one of them however, putting in a great shift throughout the entire 120 minutes, though Lineker believes there is one aspect to the midfielder’s game that could be exposed against better opposition.
‘Elliot Anderson, he was so good. His passing, those cross-field balls,’ the legendary England striker said on the Rest is Football.
‘Really good first-half and he was everywhere in the game. He kept running and running for the whole 120 minutes.
‘The one thing I would say, sometimes he can jump a little bit early. If you’ve got Bellingham and Declan Rice [ahead of him], sometimes we look a little bit open in front of the back-four.
‘I think he’s brilliant but it does concern you. Maybe it’s because we were playing Norway and not Argentina, France or Spain.’
Former England defender Micah Richards agreed, going so far as to suggest that Tuchel was not playing Anderson in his best position: ‘I actually think he’s an eight, I don’t think he’s a six.
‘He’s technically too good, his passing range is so good. He’s got so much energy, he can go up and down. He’s that good that he always wants to be involved.
‘He’s just a brilliant player [but] he’s got to be more disciplined. If you play against France and [Michael] Olise is in that No.10, you’re getting hurt straight away.
‘Just those little details, if he sorts them out, he can be anything he wants to be, I think he’s that good. Man City signed him, he’s exactly what they need: energy.
‘But it’s difficult. Rice is a runner, he’s not a six, he’s an eight. Jude is an eight or a 10, and Anderson is an eight, so that’s why some people are talking about Kobbie Mainoo [playing] but he [Tuchel] doesn’t fancy him.’
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