Alex Scott and Elliot Anderson won England the Under-21 Euros - here's why Thomas Tuchel thinks they can be the unlikely key to World Cup glory

During downtime in Slovakia during the summer you would usually find Elliot Anderson and Alex Scott joined at the hip.

Whether the duo were spotted having some lunch in Bratislava's Old Town - Brixton House was one of their favourite spots - competing in a game of darts, or off exploring a new haunt as part of their coffee club, wherever one went the other followed, on and off the pitch.

'I've loved every minute of playing next to him in midfield,' Scott said en route to England Under-21s winning back-to-back Euros in the summer.

'We have a great relationship off the pitch and that comes on the pitch as well. He's a top, top player and we get along all the time.'

It was not too long ago that Scott and Anderson were being pitted against each other while playing as a pair of promising youngsters in Bristol; Scott at City and Anderson at Rovers.

They didn't know each other then, oblivious to the fact that they would one day be anchoring an England team in a major final as the closest of friends.

In Slovakia the pair provided the foundation for success for Lee Carsley in his 4-2-2-2 system.

While Anderson adopted the deeper of those two roles and Scott is seen by Thomas Tuchel as more of a No 8 than a No 6 like Anderson, there was a natural telepathy between them that allowed England to dominate games.

Scott was more of a disruptor, suffocating the opposition out of possession, while Anderson dictated as the deep-lying playmaker.

Their connection was not lost on FA staff. The 3-1 win over Czechia stood out as a complete performance from both.

Tuchel was in regular contact throughout the tournament with Carsley and FA technical director John McDermott about the Under-21s group.

He wanted to know who was a good traveller away from the footballer, what partnerships were forming, and who he could rely on in the future. Anderson and Scott in particular won rave reviews in many of those virtual calls.

When the final against Germany rolled around, Tuchel dashed from the Club World Cup in the United States to Slovakia to see the pair for himself.

Daily Mail Sport understands that it was that display in downing Germany that solidified in Tuchel's mind that the future of England's midfield was to run through Anderson.

Scott, too, left a lasting impression, particularly because of his undeniable chemistry with Tuchel's new star man. Impressive in his own right but his synergy with Anderson, a key piece of Tuchel's puzzle for the World Cup, struck the England boss.

'He had an excellent Euros,' Tuchel explained, after handing Scott his maiden senior call-up on Friday.

'He won the title and Lee was full of praise. He did an excellent job in midfield together with Elliot Anderson, who is now a regular starter for us.

'It was very impressive but then he took another step and became a very regular starter now for Bournemouth and they are in the top third of the league. They are overperforming constantly.

'He puts intensity in and he gets his minutes, so we thought this is maybe the perfect time to reward him and to get to know him and to see what he can bring to our team.'

Tuchel went into the dressing room that night of the final in Bratislava, rushing down from his vantage point to pass on his congratulations.

He shared a couple of jokes to break the ice and even dished out an apology to Scott after giving him a playful tap on the jaw that the midfielder had broken only a month or so earlier.

'We laughed that off! It wasn't painful, to be fair,' Scott recently told The Sun.

'He had forgotten about it being broken, looked quite shocked at it and apologised!'

Tuchel wasted no time in drafting Anderson into the first team mix and he's not missed a beat.

Man of the match displays in his first two games for the senior side in World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia set a tone.

Now it's over to Scott to underline his own case to be on the plane to the World Cup next summer. With one of his best friends playing alongside him, don't rule out the coffee club going on another world tour soon.