England’s 2-0 win over Albania will be remembered for securing the Three Lions’ 11th consecutive competitive victory for the first time in their history, whilst going unbeaten on the road to America.
However, for Adam Wharton, he’ll probably remember it as the night his ambition of starting in midfield at World Cup 2026 quietly slipped away.
Wharton was one of seven personnel changes in Tirana and in turn made his first start for his country. It was supposed to be the moment he staked a claim to partner Declan Rice in midfield over Elliot Anderson.
Instead, he put the Wharton vs Anderson debate to bed himself. It was a somewhat timid performance with flashes of ability, but nowhere anywhere near enough to dislodge Anderson from the starting line-up next summer.
Embed from Getty ImagesThanks to Wharton, he answered Thomas Tuchel’s question mark in midfield. The answer: if fit, Anderson must start alongside Rice in America next summer.
Anderson has been the revelation of the recent international breaks, he has been irreplaceable since the 2-0 win over Andorra in September where he was named Player of the Match.
In the following matches against Serbia, Latvia and Wales, Anderson started every match and refused to give Tuchel any reason to drop him. The Nottingham Forest midfielder excelled alongside Rice, with his defensive work rate and playmaking ability from deep areas.
So, when the England boss finally did give Wharton a chance, he was expected to do the same: make an immediate impact and give Tuchel a headache heading into 2026.
What happened was the opposite.
Fans that sit behind computer screens tracking stats will say he was superb, because he created the most chances in the match with three. But if you really watched him, he was far from superb. He was timid.
The Crystal Palace player seemed to hide behind opponents at times, never really offering himself as an option. Even during the half-time analysis on ITV, Roy Keane labelled Wharton as “a bit soft” for not demanding the ball.
Anderson on the other hand, has never had that kind of issue, he always wants the ball and gets himself into positions where he can be an outlet. When he replaced Wharton against Albania, you could see the contrast immediately as he created a chance with only his second pass. Overall, he looked far more comfortable on the ball.
But maybe that’s the confidence you gain from starting in the squad regularly. Maybe I’m being too harsh on the 21-year-old making his first start for England.
Then again, 22-year-old Jarrell Quansah didn’t seem to have a problem. The Liverpool defender made his debut on Sunday evening, putting in a solid shift and right-back.
Tuchel was very impressed with Quansah after throwing him in the deep end. He said: “[Quansah] played like he had 50 caps”.
At full time, the camera panned to Anderson who strolled over to the travelling fans with his chest puffed out. The personification of confidence.
Embed from Getty ImagesCompare that to Wharton 20 minutes prior, who looked sorely disappointed. It was after Kane’s first goal, where Wharton’s eyes dropped mid-celebration when he looked over to the bench and saw his time was up. He headed over to the bench slouched and shy, just like his performance on the pitch.
Speaking to ITV, Tuchel admitted that Wharton was “a little bit exposed” in midfield but “overall he did well”.
Unfortunately, you don’t win World Cups by just ‘doing well’. You win World Cups with players who take games by the scruff of the neck and make something happen. Anderson is one of those players, not Wharton.
Embed from Getty ImagesWritten by Isabelle Newnham
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