England analysis: Tuchel’s confidence will growpublished at 07:25 GMT 14 November
England 2-0 Serbia
Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer
It was inevitable that England’s meeting with Serbia would lack a sense of jeopardy with World Cup qualification assured, but Thomas Tuchel will still have been left with increasing confidence about the forthcoming World Cup following this win.
The sight of Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden emerging from the bench after 65 minutes, along with goalscoring substitute Eberechi Eze, was another demonstration of the depth of talent at Tuchel’s disposal as he shapes his final World Cup plans.
Morgan Rogers, Marcus Rashford and Elliot Anderson had all made their contributions, while Crystal Palace’s outstanding young midfielder Adam Wharton, on as a late substitute, finally got more minutes for England for the first time since June 2024.
This has been a hugely satisfying qualifying campaign for Tuchel and England, gathering momentum exactly as he would have wished before the final qualifier in Albania on Sunday.
Saka once again showed the class that makes him a certain World Cup pick with a spectacular finish to open the scoring, with Arsenal team-mate Eze also providing a stylish final flourish to erase any doubts about the result.
Debutant O’Reilly made an accomplished start while, at the other end of the scale, captain Harry Kane may not have got on the scoresheet but showed his hunger still burns, even producing a tackle on the edge of his own area to snuff out a rare Serbian threat.
And in goal, Pickford continues to set records with another shutout, meaning England have still to concede a goal in qualifying.
All in all, Tuchel can head to Tirana in buoyant mood.
Image source, Getty Images
