England 2-0 Serbia player ratings: Bellingham, Foden, Eze stake claims from bench | OneFootball

It was an inevitably low-key affair at Wembley, England’s 2-0 win over Serbia having for much of the time a bit of an international friendly vibe as Thomas Tuchel’s team failed to hit the heights of some recent performances but were nevertheless absolutely fine.

The game did open up a bit towards the end, with the twin driving forces of some pretty significant England subs and the fact Serbia’s fast-fading hopes of salvaging anything at all from a miserably disappointing qualifying campaign rested on grabbing an unlikely late equaliser before Eberechi Eze sealed the deal.

Eze joined Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham in making a significant statement as a second-half substitute on a night when Marcus Rashford didn’t quite do enough to push his claims to start on the left of England’s attack, and Nico O’Reilly became the latest in a growing list of England left-backs who seem absolutely fine.

JORDAN PICKFORD

Although Serbia created more chances than most have managed against England in this qualifying campaign, he still faced his customary number of actual shots to save. His key contribution to the night’s proceedings was a definitely real quad injury after a soporific opening quarter of the game, which by sheer happenstance allowed Thomas Tuchel to get his players in for a bit of a team-talk which was followed by a far better five-minute spell culminating in the opening goal of the game.

Give him an assist.

REECE JAMES

England’s first-choice right-back and it’s not particularly close. One lovely little flick to set Jude Bellingham away was a highlight of an otherwise typically unflustered and unflustering display. Please stay fit, please stay fit, please stay fit.

EZRI KONSA

Showed his pace early on to stay with Dusan Vlahovic and prevent the Juventus striker getting a shot away and his status as certain squad member, potential centre-back starter and handy right-back option for when/if James is broken again remains as secure as ever.

JOHN STONES

We have basically no notes here for John Stones’ performance tonight. That’s rarely a bad thing for a centre-back.

NICO O’REILLY

Another left-back debutant who has sauntered into the team and looked instantly and entirely at home. We’re not sure it’s actually all that helpful to have all these left-backs just come in and all look absolutely fine.

Because we don’t know what to do with the information. It’s going to become necessary over the weeks and months ahead to develop a strong and unshakeable opinion on the relative merits of O’Reilly and Djed Spence and Myles Lewis-Skelly and Lewis Hall when the truth is that all of them are simply absolutely fine.

DECLAN RICE

Just has a quiet, serene authority about him now for both England and Arsenal. A player who knows how good he is and what he’s trying to achieve and at absolute peace with it. And the set-piece threat is going to be such a big deal next summer. Should have had an assist with one trademark corner from the left that Kane nodded inexplicably wide, to his own surprise perhaps even more than anyone else’s.

ELLIOT ANDERSON

Really strange now to think that Anderson as inked-in certain starter alongside Declan Rice in England’s engine room really is, as a concept, only a couple of months old. Another calm and effective performance that was only in any way disconcerting because of this tweet.

BUKAYO SAKA

Blazed over the bar having been expertly found by Harry Kane from something very close to the position he scored against Wales in the last international break but then cushioned a delightful volley home after Nico O’Reilly’s shot from a corner was half-blocked and sent arcing into his path.

Was then a bit quiet for a while, to the extent we thought he might be injured. He wasn’t, just his boot was. So that was a relief. Burst back to life when England’s attack was given a real shot in the arm by the arrival of the second-half substitutes in every attacking spot other than Saka’s.

MORGAN ROGERS

Was okay, but this was not a night for okay. He’s an excellent player, and an excellent back-up for Jude Bellingham, but the idea that he might conceivably be a starting No. 10 in place of the Real Madrid man did start to feel vaguely preposterous by the end of the night.

This is not meant in any way as criticism, you understand. Just an acceptance of objective reality. Rogers: Very good indeed. Bellingham: better. There’s no shame in that.

MARCUS RASHFORD

Lovely bit of interplay with Nico O’Reilly and Declan Rice created England’s first real opening just after a suspiciously usefully timed minor Jordan Pickford injury allowed Tuchel to bend his players’ ears for a minute after an underwhelming opening 20 minutes.

It was an entertaining and lively hour-and-a-bit from Rashford, but the brutal fact is he had two halfway presentable chances and put them both straight at the keeper. The end product that could have put him decisively clear of the unfortunate Anthony Gordon in one of the few real fights for a starting spot left was just not quite there. And it didn’t help either of them to see Eze come on and have such fun in the final 25 minutes.

HARRY KANE

Fascinating to watch the real-time memory-holing of the fact that Harry Kane has been playing exactly this way for club and country for basically a decade now. And often getting absolute pelters for it. Yes, he made a crucial tackle as a centre-back. Yes, he also popped up at six and eight and 10 and even 11 as well as nine. It is what he does, it is what he has always – with the important caveat of ‘when fit enough’ like he wasn’t at the Euros – done.

Still odd to us that a lot of people seem more impressed now that Kane is doing this kind of stuff while playing for the strongest team in a weaker league than they were when he did it for a weaker team in the strongest league.

SUBSTITUTES

JUDE BELLINGHAM (for Rogers, 65)

An obviously significant moment in an insignificant evening, and it was one that even managed to distract England fans from yeeting paper aeroplanes as England’s attacking enterprise definitely went up a notch after a distinctly international friendly-esque raft of changes.

England’s second goal was one absolutely dripping in #narrative, coming as it did from a combination of three subs with a point to prove. Bellingham’s strength and technique at the start of the move got the ball rolling before Phil Foden set up Eberechi Eze for the finish. Its impact on this match’s result didn’t really matter, but it felt like it could prove an extremely significant England goal nonetheless.

JORDAN HENDERSON (for Rice, 65)

He’s got a very clear role in this squad, hasn’t he? And you know what? To our very great surprise, we’re okay with it.

EBERECHI EZE (for Rashford, 65)

Brilliant fun. Yes, it can be harsh to compare the contribution of a sub who gets 25 minutes to run at a tired defence versus the tougher slog that the starter gets, but Eze has put himself right into the conversation with regards that spot on the left-hand side of England’s attack.

Already a squad certainty for his ability and versatility across those attacking positions around Harry Kane (or, in this case, Phil Foden) he’s inserted himself right into the Gordon-Rashford starting debate. Took his goal wonderfully well after being perfectly teed up by Phil Foden and was one of the night’s big winners in terms of the bigger-picture battle.

PHIL FODEN (for Kane, 65)

Came on as what Tuchel before the match called a ‘nine and a half’ in the absence of Ollie Watkins and therefore any specialist striker whatsoever to play the all-important non-Kane cameo minutes at the end of redundant qualifiers.

And he was… pretty good. The perfect weighting of the pass to set up Eze’s game-clinching goal was an obvious highlight but he was busy and lively in that kind of hybrid attacking position. Clearly possesses the technique and footballing wit to play the role and with no truly compelling back-up striker currently around, Tuchel might just have hit upon an ingenious way to incorporate an elite attacking talent who has never quite found his role with England.

ADAM WHARTON (for Anderson, 85)

A brief but significant cameo, because Wharton’s skillset really does feel to us like a pretty special and markedly different one from that offered by other midfielders. Seems unlikely he can now do much to prise apart the Rice-Anderson axis as a starting pair, which is fine because they’re both excellent, but we really would like to have him around as an option next summer.