Elliot Anderson has rubbished the suggestion he has nailed down his place in England’s midfield for next summer’s World Cup.
The Nottingham Forest midfielder has enjoyed a stellar start to his senior international career, having been in Thomas Tuchel’s starting XI for the last three games.
The latest of those came in Thursday’s 3-0 friendly win over Wales, where he put in another accomplished display on his Wembley bow.
He appears to have made the deep-lying number six position his own but is not getting carried away ahead of an anticipated fourth outing in Latvia on Tuesday.
“I have got to keep going,” he said. “It is only three games, so I have got to do a lot more than that.
“I am just focusing on what I can bring to the team and (will be) just trying to help the team out really.
“The team spirit has been very important. It’s a top team and top lads, as well.
“They have really helped me and I have felt at home ever since the first day I came in. It helps a lot to bring the good out in players.”
Anderson has dovetailed well with Declan Rice, who has been playing in a more advanced number eight role.
He added: “I think I am building a nice relationship with Dec in there. I am getting to do it more, which is good, and getting to know him. Hopefully we can continue.
“He is so good in the number eight role. You see it, he is just so good really. He gets goals and gets assists as well, which helps when he is playing higher up.
“He is just a top player to play alongside.”
The feeling is mutual for Rice, who is flourishing with Anderson’s pragmatism behind him.
The Arsenal midfielder said of his team-mate: “He has taken it in his stride and he is playing exactly how he does for his club.
“When you have a lad who is that confident and comes in and feels like they don’t have to do anything different, they go on the pitch and everything is just like autopilot, the way he plays.
“We have built up a really strong relationship in midfield. We have a close relationship there. We are playing closer together, he is letting me go forward a little bit more. We are building a nice little partnership.
“The manager has really liked us in the last three games and he has stuck with that. We have just got to keep building on that.
“Obviously the World Cup is in the summer, still a long way to go, but the more we can play, keep building momentum, it will be really important.”
