England finally deliver on Thomas Tuchel’s vision with five-goal rout of Serbia | OneFootball

Thomas Tuchel said he was looking forward to this, and you can now see why. He’s at last given England something to look forward to, and that goes beyond just being at the World Cup next summer.

This 5-0 win over Serbia should make qualification a certainty given that Tuchel’s side are seven points clear of second place with just three games left, but more important was the manner of it. It was, really, a perfect night – right down to three players enjoying their first international goals.

This was what England had been waiting for. This, finally, was Tuchel’s England. They were disciplined in structure and then dynamic in attack, exactly what he has long idealised.

From a confidently controlled display, England repeatedly released attacks that a notionally robust Serbia struggled to deal with. They were so harried that Nikola Milenkovic was forced into a desperate red-card lunge on Harry Kane at 3-0.

The centre-piece goal, to make it 2-0 before half-time, felt like a launch moment for both scorer Noni Madueke – his first for England – and the manager. It was precisely what you’d imagine when you see such sleek talent. Madueke himself got things moving with a ball to the assured Elliot Anderson, whose through ball was then uproariously flicked on by the superb Morgan Rogers. Madueke was left through on goal to lift the ball over Dorde Petrovic, a fittingly soaring finish for such a move.

It’s the moment that now sets the standard for what this England can be. The most difficult fixture did indeed bring out the best in the team, as both Tuchel and Kane had promised.

It is probably instructive that they scored more goals in one match against Serbia than they did in two against Andorra.

A proper test was required. Too many of the previous games had been tepid fixtures that just weren’t going to enliven the team. This got everyone going.

open image in gallery

Capacity was reduced by at least 15% as a Fifa punishment for racist chanting in a game against Andorra (Bradley Collyer/PA Wire)

Except, it must be said, the Serbian crowd. England never really had to endure that “famous atmosphere”, as the away fans goaded. It wasn’t even like the team killed it with Kane’s 33rd-minute header from Declan Rice’s corner. The noise never came, at least not for England.

Part of that might have been because of the reduced crowd due to a previous punishment, which also led the Serbian federation to appeal to fans to behave themselves.

Part of it might have been that minds were mostly occupied by local issues. The entire game had been framed by protests against the government, and local media even spoke of how the situation led to further criticism for their manager – and legendary player - Dragan Stojkovic. Long before the end, most of the stands had almost as many seats visible as the empty area.

There was some crowd unrest, as well as politically-charged chants about Kosovo. That, like much of the occasion, didn’t really concern the England players. They just got on with it.

open image in gallery

Harry Kane’s header put the visitors in front (Reuters)

There was even a sense, around the 26th minute, of the players just realising they were the superior side, and upping the intensity. Anthony Gordon scorched through the backline, Rogers opened it with one supreme turn.

The game felt almost as significant for the Aston Villa creator as it did for Madueke or Tuchel himself. Given how terrifically in tune England were, Rogers now has as reasonable a claim to that central position as Jude Bellingham or even Cole Palmer.

Their very status means such a call may raise eyebrows, but international teams aren’t supposed to be about names. They’re supposed to be about cohesion. England have found that and more with this attack.

open image in gallery

Noni Madueke doubled England’s advantage moments after Kane’s opener (Getty Images)

Tuchel now has a very enjoyable puzzle to figure out. There won’t be any talk that he doesn’t know his team now, or at least not for some time. His four changes were vindicated.

This was why you could describe it as perfect. Tuchel’s England haven’t even conceded a goal in competitive fixtures.

At the other end, there was almost every type of strike you’d want, bar an indulgent long-range effort. The opening goal was also from a set piece, which is appropriate given what Tuchel said before the game about using old weapons. He just ensured that England showed they were about much more than that.

open image in gallery

Madueke made a brilliant run to score his first England goal (The FA via Getty Images)

Serbia’s issues were admittedly showcased by that Kane goal, as a physically imposing defence somehow left such a striker with a free header from a set piece.

Madueke’s goal almost immediately made it more than just a win, before the rest of the team made it more than a “statement”. It was a rout.

England were giving Serbia such a pummelling that a series of drives at Petrovic eventually just saw Ezri Konsa turn in the third for his first international goal. Marc Guehi enjoyed a similar strike after the red card, before substitute Marcus Rashford added even greater gloss to the final scoreline with a penalty.

The stadium was by then almost empty. Tuchel and his England had offered as complete a performance as you’d want.