Anderson relishing competition for England World Cup spot

Elliot Anderson believes "you've always got people coming for your position" at England as he looks to strengthen his chances of starting at the 2026 World Cup.

Anderson has impressed for Nottingham Forest over the past two seasons, while he also became a familiar face in Thomas Tuchel's starting line-up during England's World Cup qualifiers.

Featuring in five of their eight qualifiers, Anderson played the eighth most minutes of any England player, recording the joint-most interceptions (six), winning the second-most tackles (five) and completing the third-most passes (432).

Anderson may face competition for a starting spot alongside Declan Rice from Adam Wharton and James Garner, with the latter staking his claim with a strong performance against Uruguay.

Garner created a match-high four chances, while also completing the most passes in the final third (15) and winning six of his nine duels.

Wharton played the second half against Uruguay, creating one chance from 20 completed passes (20/24), winning four of his five duels and recording the joint-most interceptions (three).

The Three Lions face Japan at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday, and Anderson is relishing the chance to show his quality ahead of this summer's tournament.

"It's always a big game when you play for England. I'm looking forward to it," said the Forest midfielder.

"It's the last game before the World Cup, I've got to keep doing what I've been doing in the previous games.

"I'm really enjoying coming into the camp and learning off the lads. It's really good at the moment.

"We're all competing with each other but we're all really good mates within the group. There's a good balance. The competitiveness is there, but we're all really enjoying it.

"When you play for England, you've always got people coming for your position. Hopefully, I can do well enough to keep it."