Elliot Anderson was given his first call-up to the Scotland national team after manager Steve Clarke claimed that he had “good discussions” with the Newcastle midfielder and his family before making the decision.
The friendly match against England and the Euro 2024 qualifying match in Cyprus are both on the agenda for the 20-year-old player next month.
He qualified to represent Scotland at the youth level despite being born in Whitley Bay because his grandmother was Scottish.
“He had a little think about choosing between Scotland and England,” said Clarke. “He ultimately decided to go with England.”
“Elliot has been through the under-age levels with Scotland, and he is one of the players that we have been keeping an eye on.
“We had some good discussions with the boy and his family, and he has chosen to come with us, which is good for us now, and it will certainly be good for us in the future.”
Listen for reactions to the unveiling of the Scotland squad.
Anderson has made one appearance for Scotland Under-21 after switching his allegiance to England Under-19s for a short period of time in 2021. Anderson was used as a substitute in Newcastle’s first three Premier League matches of the current season. Anderson has declined additional calls to represent England at the Under-19 level.
“We have gotten some great reports from people within the club at Newcastle,” stated Clarke. “We are very excited about this.”
“The beginning of the campaign has gone off without a hitch for us, and I’ve found that picking out players when things are going well is definitely simpler than when things are going poorly.
“He has decided to stay with us, and we really hope that this will turn out to be a good decision for both Elliot and for ourselves.”
After four matches, Scotland is on top of Group A with a perfect score, putting them in a strong position to qualify for the Euro 2024 tournament.
The first three games of the tournament were lost by Cyprus, including a 3-0 loss at Hampden in March.
After playing each other in Larnaca on September 8, Scotland will then play host to England on September 12 to mark the occasion of the first matchup between the two nations, which took place in 1872.
The inaugural international match, which took place at Hamilton Crescent in Glasgow and ended in a scoreless draw in front of 4,000 people, is recognized by Fifa as having been played.
“A game against England takes care of itself,” added Clarke. “We just have to go out and play.” “We want to challenge ourselves against the top nations, teams that get to the later stages of the major tournaments,” but for the time being, all of our attention is being directed toward Cyprus.
Nathan Patterson and Scott McKenna return from injury to replace captain Liam Cooper of Leeds United, while Greg Taylor of Celtic and Dominic Hyam of Blackburn Rovers are replaced by Nathan Patterson and Scott McKenna, respectively. Liam Cooper is sidelined due to an injury.
Clarke admitted that he has “a bit of a top heavy” group with strikers, but he emphasized that Liverpool’s young forward Ben Doak is in his mind.
“Anyone who is doing well for their club, especially at a club like Liverpool, playing off the bench in the Premier League, they are always going to be close,” he added. “Anyone who is doing well for their club, especially at a club like Liverpool.” “I simply had the impression that now would be the appropriate time to involve Elliot in this endeavor.
“Ben is aware that we are keeping an eye on him, and he is aware that he is a part of the future, but he needs to keep doing what he is doing at his club, and he needs to keep playing well. If he continues to act in that manner, I have no doubt that his time will come around very soon.
The following goalkeepers have been selected for the Scotland squad: Angus Gunn (Norwich), Liam Kelly (Motherwell), and Zander Clark (Hearts).
Andrew Robertson (Liverpool), Kieran Tierney (Real Sociedad), Jack Hendry (Al-Ettifaq), Jack Hendry (Al-Ettifaq), Aaron Hickey (Brentford), Ryan Porteous (Watford), John Souttar (Rangers), Scott McKenna (Nottingham Forest), Nathan Patterson (Everton), and Ryan Porteous (Watford) are the defenders.
The following players play in the midfield position: Elliot Anderson (Newcastle United), Stuart Armstrong (Southampton), Lewis Ferguson (Bologna), Billy Gilmour (Brighton), Callum McGregor (Celtic), Ryan Jack (Rangers), Scott McTominay (Manchester United), John McGinn (Aston Villa), and Kenny McLean (Norwich).
Lawrence Shankland (Hearts), Lyndon Dykes (QPR), Kevin Nisbet (Millwall), Che Adams (Southampton), and Ryan Christie (Bournemouth) are the forwards for their respective teams.
