Thomas Tuchel has heaped praise on Bournemouth’s Alex Scott after his first start for England in the 7-0 demolition of Croatia on Saturday. The 23-year-old was in midfield alongside Elliot Anderson as the Three Lions romped to a dominant win in Rijeka.
Harry Kane (2), Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon, Bukayo Saka (2) and Morgan Rogers scored the goals in a record defeat for Croatia, but Scott has earned plenty of plaudits.
Tuchel impressed in Rice’s absence
Declan Rice is Anderson’s usual partner in midfield but pulled out of the squad for the current international break and Tuchel has been very impressed with Scott in the Arsenal star’s absence.
‘First start and what a start. What a performance,’ Tuchel told a post-match press conference. ‘He’s just so smooth at the moment on the ball, decision-making is on the highest level, he plays with so much confidence. He’s so active, so confident and the work-rate off the ball, he’s the complete package at the moment.
‘He gave us today a lot of mobility, a lot of variety and a lot of work-rate in the centre of the pitch, together with Elliot.’
Keane and Scott react
Scott made his first England appearance as a substitute against Czechia on Tuesday night and it looks like there will be many more to come after winning his second cap against Croatia.
Manchester United legend Roy Keane liked the look of Scott in the middle of the park, saying on ITV: ‘He’s done great. He looked really comfortable out there in his first start, he looked like he was an experienced midfielder out there.
‘He looked comfortable with the players he was surrounded by. To come up against players like Modric, if he ends up having half the career of Modric then he’ll be doing really well.
‘A comfortable night for him and that’s the biggest compliment I can give him. He kept it simple, which is always a test for a player, didn’t complicate it and every time he got it he was in control of the situation.’
Scott, who has been linked with a big move away from Bournemouth to the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool, was thrilled with the whole team’s performance in the eye-catching victory.
‘No better feeling, first start and to start with a win like that is amazing,’ he said. ‘The quality in this squad, I think you can see if from the first minute. The lads we’ve got in the front line, they’re pretty deadly, so scoring goals for them is pretty easy. It was a great performance from everyone, the defensive line, me and Elliot in midfield, it was hard work.
‘We really wanted to push them as much as possible and we did that today.’
