England 2-0 Serbia: Saka & Eze score in comfortable win for Three Lions

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.

Match Report

With England's place at the tournament secure, much of the build-up to Thursday's game focused on Thomas Tuchel's assertion that Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden could not both play alongside captain Harry Kane, and both were second-half substitutes at Wembley.

It was another of England's biggest names that broke the deadlock in the 28th minute, with Saka guiding a cultured volley beyond Predrag Rajkovic after the Serbia goalkeeper parried a lofted ball from debutant Nico O'Reilly.

The Three Lions went close to a second goal on a couple of occasions in the first half, with Nikola Milenkovic almost turning O'Reilly's centre into his own net and Kane nodding wide.

Jordan Pickford smothered Filip Kostic's effort at the other end, but Serbia's best chance to level arrived in the 62nd minute as Dusan Vlahovic's backheel dribbled wide.

Bellingham received a huge ovation from the home fans when he was introduced in the 65th minute, with Foden also entering the fray as a false nine by replacing Kane.

Foden almost had an assist when he found Eze with a sensational dinked pass over the top, but the Arsenal man could only flick an effort against the goalkeeper and onto the crossbar.

But after Lazar Samardzic shot wide for Serbia, the same duo combined for a clinching goal in the final minute of the 90. Foden drove forward before offloading to Eze near the left corner of the box, and he curled a wonderful finish into the top-right corner.

That goal extinguished all hopes of Serbia qualifying for the World Cup, as Albania's 1-0 win in Andorra ensured they can no longer finish second and reach the play-offs.

Data Debrief: Gunners fire on the international stage again

Saka and Eze have both been in fine form for England of late, with the former having now recorded a goal involvement in three successive games for his country for the first time (two goals, one assist).

Eze, meanwhile, has scored in back-to-back games for the Three Lions for the first time, having only netted once in his first 13 senior internationals.

It was just the fifth time that two Arsenal players have both scored in the same game for England, and the first since Saka and Emile Smith Rowe netted versus San Marino in 2021.

Eze was one of four substitutes sent on by Tuchel soon after the hour mark, with Bellingham and Foden also among that quartet. Despite his limited minutes, Foden created more chances than any other player on the pitch (three), while completing all 10 of his passes.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

14' Rogers fizzes the ball into the danger area but it's cleared

18' Saka tries to find the top corner but it's high over the bar

25' A forward run by Rice and it opens up for Rashford who goes for goal but saved

28' GOAL! Saka fires home with a wonderful finish! England 1-0 Serbia

35' An attempt by Marcus Rashford which is saved before he dribbles past defender

41' CLOSE! Nico O'Reilly's deflected attempt brings a save from the keeper

42' A header for Harry Kane from a corner is just wide

45' The ball flicks off the shoulder of Morgan Rogers and drops narrowly wide

61' Highlight from England vs Serbia

63' Kostic turns it into the path of Dusan Vlahovic whose back-flick drops wide

66' Substitutions for England as Henderson, Bellingham, Foden & Eze come on

75' CLOSE! Free header for Phil Foden inside the box - he's put it wide

85' Highlight from England vs Serbia

90' GOAL! England 2-0 Serbia (Eberechi Eze)

Line-ups

England XI: Kane, Pickford, Stones, Rice, Elliot Anderson, Rashford, Ngoyo, Reece James, Morgan Rogers, Saka, Nico O'Reilly

Subs: Henderson, Burn, Dean Henderson, Bowen, Trevoh Chalobah, Foden, Eberechi Eze, Spence, James Trafford, Bellingham, Quansah, Adam Wharton

Serbia XI: Gudelj, Kostic, P. Rajković, A. Živković, Lukic, Vlahovic, Milenkovic, Ivan Ilić, Aleksa Terzic, S. Pavlovic, Ognjen Mimovic

Subs: Katai, Veljkovic, Radonjic, Grujic, Jovic, Luka Ilic, Djordje Petrovic, Strahinja Erakovic, Lazar Samardžić, Veljko Ilic, Aleksandar Stanković, Veljko Milosavljevic