England maintained their perfect World Cup qualifying record with a 2-0 win over Serbia thanks to a fine Bukayo Saka volley and excellent Eberechi Eze finish, as Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden had mixed performances off the bench at Wembley.
The goals were standout moments of quality on a rain-soaked night in which already-qualified England struggled to hit the high levels they’ve reached in recent internationals. But Thomas Tuchel’s side were markedly improved after he intervened midway through the first half after a lacklustre and sloppy start to the game from his team.
Bukayo Saka fires England ahead against Serbia
England had been 3-0 up by half-time in their past three internationals – including a 5-0 thrashing of Serbia in Belgrade – but were alarmingly slow out of the blocks here until an impromptu Tuchel team talk shook things up when Jordan Pickford went down calling for treatment on 23 minutes.
With Harry Kane dropping deeper to turn playmaker and Declan Rice more advanced, Saka and Marcus Rashford suddenly began to threaten. As well as Saka’s volley, there were more good chances before half-time, with Kane heading wide and Rogers glancing off target after Rashford and Rice were unable to capitalise on a counter.
There were let-offs in the second half, though, with Dusan Vlahovic flicking wide and then clipping the roof of the net as Serbia – increasingly desperate – searched for an equaliser to save their World Cup hopes. This result, though, coupled with Albania also winning in Andorra, ends their chances of a top-two finish in Group K.
Eberechi Eze celebrates scoring England’s second goal against Serbia
The statistics look good for England. They are still yet to concede in this campaign, with Pickford’s England record run of international clean sheets stretching to 10 matches. But at the other end of the pitch there is intrigue into how Tuchel will utilise all his attacking options.
Bellingham and Foden – benched with Tuchel favouring Morgan Rogers at No 10 – finally entered the fray after an hour. Foden, as a false nine, nodded a headed chance wide but made his mark late on, chipping a wonderful pass for an Eze shot to be tipped onto the bar before assisting his team-mate for England’s second.
Bellingham, meanwhile, playing off Foden, buzzed like a player with a point to prove. There were a couple of exciting combinations with Reece James but ultimately the Real Madrid man became frustrated. If anything, this was another night in which Rogers once again showed why he is liked by Tuchel despite competition at No 10 from high-profile team-mates. It is a battle which will run right up until the World Cup.
Tuchel happy with passing ‘intense’ test
England boss Thomas Tuchel:
“We wanted to have quality and impact and new energy from the bench which we got. We created chances, half-chances and scored.
“We had some moments to defend until the very end, to defend our clean sheet. A special compliment to Jordan and the back four today. In the second half the pressing was not always right and we let Serbia escape. There was some intense output we had to give to get the clean sheet and win the game.
“It was a difficult match, a complicated match, we had to adapt and be flexible. Maybe throughout the match we lacked a little bit of precision with the last pass, otherwise we could have created more and scored earlier to be a bit more calm.
“But I liked it, it stayed intense and a tight match. We could see their quality. I’m happy about this test. It was a test. The attitude was right.”
Analysis: Lessons from England’s win over Serbia
Sky Sports’ Sam Blitz at Wembley:
“So what did we learn there?
“England don’t play with a striker. Harry Kane played like a deep midfielder. Phil Foden came on as a false nine. Lots of people called for a Danny Welbeck to support Kane, but do England even need that out-and-out No 9?
“Tuchel can change it mid-game. England were dire in the first 25 minutes. The England boss got the group in with a tactical time-out and suddenly the team was much, much better. Rice played higher. Rashford and Saka were more involved.
“Anderson looks the part. So many clever incisive balls from England’s defensive midfielder. That No 6 role is his to lose, with Adam Wharton only given five minutes to impress.
“There’s a race on at centre-back. Ezri Konsa looked good, with a couple of last-ditch challenges. Who out of him, John Stones and Marc Guehi fill the two spots?
“Nico O’Reilly looks the part too. The Man City left-back did not look out of place on England debut – he lasted the 90 minutes. Is that spot his to lose too?
“And Bellingham is still not at it. Still feeling his shoulder injury? Not up to speed? Short of confidence? Rogers looked better than him here.”
Foden: The smile is back!
England’s Phil Foden to ITV:
“So happy to be back in the squad. Great players and I’m enjoying it. I thought I did well, created a few chances and unlucky not to put a couple away. Overall, I have to be happy with the impact.”
On his role as striker: “I’ll play wherever the manager puts me. I can play multiple positions and I was happy to come on as a false nine. I enjoyed it. Maybe it will get the best out of me, only time will tell.
“There are quality players all over the pitch. I know there is pressure on me to perform at Man City and I just have to keep my head down and earn my place. The smile is back.”
The draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place in Washington on December 5.
President Trump will join FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the John F Kennedy Center – a performing arts venue where Trump is chairman – to decide the group stage fixtures.
Announcing the draw venue at the White House in August, Trump said the World Cup was “the biggest event in sports”, while Infantino declared the 104 matches would be like “104 Super Bowls”.
The draw will take place from 12pm local time (5pm UK time).
The 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup takes place from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
It will be the 23rd edition of the tournament.
