England Fans Name Shock Player Who Must Start at World Cup After Serbia Win

England fans have named the one player they think must start at the World Cup after the 5-0 win over Serbia in Belgrade.

Thomas Tuchel's side produced a commanding display to win their fourth consecutive World Cup qualifier.

The Three Lions will qualify for the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico if they collect three points from their final three qualifiers in October and November.

Serbia are arguably England's strongest opposition in Group K but had just one shot on goal over the 90 minutes.

Nottingham Forest defender Nikola Milenkovic was shown a straight red card at 3-0 down to cap off a miserable night for Dragan Stojkovic's side.

Tuchel made four changes from Saturday's 2-0 win over Andorra, with Tino Livramento, Ezri Konsa, Morgan Rogers and Anthony Gordon coming into the side.

The England starting XI therefore had a much more youthful look about it, with U21 Euros winner Elliot Anderson making his second consecutive start in the centre of midfield.

As per OptaJoe, Anderson ranked highest for both successful passes and final third passes over the two matches out of any player in the Three Lions squad.

The Forest midfielder was called up to the squad amid Jude Bellingham's absence due to injury - and fans think he should be firmly in contention to start England's opening World Cup game next year.

Taking to Twitter, one fan wrote: "Elliot Anderson is too good, we need him for the World Cup. Perfect partner for Rice in this set up because he's comfortable at everything."

A second added: "Elliot Anderson looks like the missing piece from that midfield."

A third enthused; "Elliot Anderson is making that position in England's team his, just as he did with us. Sensational player."

And a fourth wrote: "The whole world now seeing what we see every week. Elliot Anderson is the best midfielder in the Premier League."

Speaking after the 5-0 win in Belgrade, Tuchel said: "Elliot deserved, first of all, to be with us because he did excellent for his club, and for the U21s - that was very impressive.

"He had two excellent performances" 👏

Thomas Tuchel praises Elliot Anderson for his displays against Serbia and Andorra 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 pic.twitter.com/98lopIrqOs

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) September 9, 2025

"When I saw him perform in the U21s final, I had the idea that maybe he can be a 6 and maybe play him to his strengths.

"And he was excellent in camp, like everyone else. The group made it as easy as possible for him, but he did all the effort that was needed. Two excellent performances as well.

"Now it's on him to keep it going, and to keep also the lightness with him, and the freedom with him that he needs for his game. He's just a very, very good football player, and a very good team-mate in camp."