Elliot Anderson is “really thankful” he chose not to represent Scotland at senior level as he hopes for an England debut this week.
The 22-year-old Nottingham Forest midfielder, who was born in Whitley Bay, represented Scotland at youth level from Under-16s to Under-21s and boss Steve Clarke named him in the senior squad for matches against Cyprus and England in 2023.
But he withdrew from the squad, citing an injury, and later pledged his allegiance to the country of his birth.
He was part of the England Under-21s squad that enjoyed glory in the European Championships and is now eyeing a first senior cap in the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.He explained: “I went away with the Scotland team and I left camp after a few days and decided I just needed more time to make my decision really.
“I didn’t want to dive into anything, so I’m really thankful I’ve done that now.”
Anderson qualifies for Scotland through his grandmother but once he got the taste of pulling on the England shirt he never looked back.
He added: “I’m definitely English. That’s where I see myself.
“It’s just I hadn’t really been called up to England throughout the ages when I was younger so I thought I’d take the opportunity to play and then once I got that belief that I thought I was good enough to play for England it hit me, and I focused on England.”
