England host Serbia in their penultimate World Cup 2026 qualifier this evening secure in the knowledge that they have already booked their place in next summer’s tournament – but Thomas Tuchel still has plenty of selection dilemmas to solve.
Beating Latvia in last month’s qualifiers ensured that England will finish top of Group K. Now the England boss has just two camps left before the tournament begins and he will want to determine which players are guaranteed a spot on the plane to Mexico, Canada and the United States.
Recalls for Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden will give Tuchel plenty to ponder over the next two games with a plethora of strong options needing to be whittled down – but both start on the bench tonight. Yet for Serbia a positive result tonight is paramount. They are vying for second place in the Group and will to improve against an England side that defeated them 5-0 in their last meeting.
Follow all the latest updates from the World Cup qualifier with our live blog below:
HALF-TIME! England 1-0 Serbia
(The FA via Getty Images)
(The FA via Getty Images)
(The FA via Getty Images)Chris Wilson13 November 2025 20:42
HALF-TIME! England 1-0 SerbiaThe half finishes with a Serbia corner that is headed away, and the referee brings us to the break.
It’s a one-goal lead for the Three Lions at half-time and it’s one they definitely deserve, though they’ve arguably been guilty of a lack of quality in the final third so far.
Chris Wilson13 November 2025 20:36
England 1-0 Serbia45 +1 mins
England finishing strongly here, with Rogers nodding a James cross narrowly wide moments ago.
We’re into the first of three minutes of added time.
Chris Wilson13 November 2025 20:34
‘Wembley groans’Lawrence Ostlere reports from Wembley:
There was an audible groan as Rashford slightly overhit that pass to Rice on the counterattack. He did the hard work bullying the centre-back off the ball, but couldn’t deliver the end product.
Lawrence Ostlere13 November 2025 20:33
England 1-0 Serbia45 mins
Serbia produce a cleve free-kick routine to get in behind the England defence, but O’Reilly does well to make sure Kostic’s cross doesn’t get through.
England clear the corner and suddenly they have a promising opening, with Rashford winning the long ball before slipping it to Rice, though he can’t get there before the ‘keeper.
Chris Wilson13 November 2025 20:33
England 1-0 Serbia43 mins
CLOSE!
Rice delivers a near-perfect in-swinging corner that finds Kane unmarked at the far post, but the England captain heads wide from just a few yards out!
He’ll think he should have scored.
Chris Wilson13 November 2025 20:30
England 1-0 Serbia42 mins
England have had a couple of moments where they threatened to play themselves into trouble at the back, but Anderson gets away with the latest incident.
At the other end, Rashford and O’Reilly exchange passes in the Serbia box before the latter forces Rajkovic to save at his near post.
Chris Wilson13 November 2025 20:29
England 1-0 Serbia39 mins
John Stones is called into action now, with the City man alert to the danger to turn a cross behind, before Pickford punches away the corner.
Ilic made way for Aleksandar Stanković for the visitors moments ago too.
Chris Wilson13 November 2025 20:27
England 1-0 Serbia37 mins
More good work from Kane results in a chance for Rashford after Ilic slips on the edge of the box, with the Barca winger curling an effort into the hands of Rajkovic.
Rashford immediately goes to check on Ilic, who looks like he may have suffered quite a serious injury there.
There’s a break in play as the Serbia midfielder receives treatment, while Saka changes his boots. Maybe that’s what he was signalling for earlier.
Chris Wilson13 November 2025 20:25
England 1-0 Serbia33 mins
England continue to apply pressure at Wembley, and they’ve gone fairly close to creating a couple of openings since the goal.
Rashford continues trying to create something, beating his man well in the box before eventually losing out.
Elsewhere, Saka looks to have run off whatever was bothering him before.
Chris Wilson13 November 2025 20:21
