Serbia 0-5 England: Tuchel’s team clicks as Three Lions dominate in Belgrade | OneFootball

England made lightwork of what was billed to be their toughest task in qualifying as they ran riot amongst a fiery atmosphere in the Serbian capital.

Goals from Harry Kane and Noni Madueke gave England a buffer by half-time, and Ezri Konsa added a third shortly after the interval.

Nikola Milenković’s straight red card with less than 20 minutes left to play worsened an already poor outing for the hosts, before Marc Guéhi and Marcus Rashford compounded their misery, making it a five-star performance from England.

As it happened

After all the noise surrounding the England camp following what was a lacklustre performance against minnows Andorra, Thomas Tuchel had big questions to answer in what was be his toughest test in World Cup qualifying.

Serbia, like England, went into this game unbeaten and without conceding a goal during this campaign. After England appeared stagnant and uninspired in their last outing it was feared the Serbian attack would be able to take advantage. But with a change defensive pairing in the form of Konsa and Guéhi, England bypassed any Serbian press with ease.

Since the first minutes, the Three Lions had been pushing for an opening from set-pieces and they broke the deadlock when the relentless Kane headed home from a Declan Rice corner just past the half-hour mark. Kane, having failed to score against Andorra, now has five in his last six for his country.

England’s second was a moment of real quality. Morgan Rogers played Madueke into a one-on-one with a delightful pass, taking two Serbian players out of the game instantly – a further indication of Rogers’ quality that will give Tuchel a wealth of options in the central attacking area to choose from as he ramps up preparations for the World Cup next summer.

England finally began to look like a solid unit under Tuchel. Any defensive shakiness had vanished and the midfield pairing of Rice and Elliot Anderson gelled together as if they’d been playing together since their academy days. Kane, Anthony Gordon and Madueke looked a dangerous unit together as well.

While the likelihood is that this is not the starting 11 we will see in North America, England have shown more than enough they have the depth to continue to compete in any major international.

As the second half started, England continued as they went on, making the hostile crowd in Belgrade appear non-existent. It wasn’t long until a Gordon freekick glided all the way through both Serbian and English shirts until Konsa fired home from close range.

Serbia were yet to concede a goal during qualifying and were unbeaten on home soil for over two years, yet they were punished again by an England side with confidence and a swagger not seen in a long time. After Milenković’s straight red card for a last-man-clattering of Kane made matters even worse for the hosts, Guéhi headed home from close range before a Rashford penalty in added time compounded the host’s misery.

Other than a few slight openings curtsey of striker Dušan Vlahović, Serbia offered very little and appeared a shadow of the side previously seen in other qualifying matches. They fall to third in the group having been overtaken by Albania while England are almost certain to book their place in North America for next year’s World Cup.

The lineups

SER: Petrović; Eraković, Milenković, Pavlović, Nedeljković, Maksimović; Lukić, Birmancević, Ilić, Zivković; Vlahović

ENG: Pickford; James, Konsa, Guéhi, Livramento; Rice, Anderson; Gordon, Rogers, Madueke; Kane