1. The battle for No 10
Thomas Tuchel would have contradicted himself if he had dropped Morgan Rogers for Jude Bellingham. It would have sent out the wrong message. It would have gone against everything Tuchel has been building during the last three camps, undermining the collective ethos that has made England happy again and given them fresh momentum to carry into next summer’s World Cup.
In that context Rogers had to start against Serbia. His driving runs, intense counter-pressing and clever link play are qualities Tuchel prizes in a No 10. They were in evidence during a dominant start from England. Rogers looked determined to hold on to his place. He could not quite find the killer pass but the intent was obvious.
The competition for places is fierce. Tuchel has said there is a “low percentage” he takes five No 10s to the World Cup. Morgan Gibbs-White has been dropped. Bellingham, Phil Foden and Eberechi Eze were on the bench. Cole Palmer is injured. Will someone make way for him? Palmer makes the difference in big games.
So does Bellingham. Wembley stirred when the 22-year-old came on for Rogers, who had faded after a bright start. Bellingham was more assertive and played a role in England’s second goal, linking with Foden. The smart money remains on him starting next summer.
2. O’Reilly seizes his chance
Luke Shaw’s disappearance from the international stage has left England with a problem at left-back. Various hopefuls are looking to establish themselves. Myles Lewis-Skelly was the answer at the start of Tuchel’s reign but is on the sidelines at Arsenal. The versatile Tino Livramento has done well but is injured again. Djed Spence is rarely beaten for pace but there are concerns over his effectiveness in possession.
Spence stepped aside for Nico O’Reilly here. O’Reilly has shot to prominence at Manchester City and looked assured on his international debut. The 19-year-old is comfortable on his left foot and gave England natural width. His overlapping runs caused problems and it was his deflected shot that looped up for Bukayo Saka to open the scoring.
The caveat is that O’Reilly is a converted midfielder. He is quick and strong but Serbia did not test his defensive nous. Tougher tests await.
3. Rashford sparkles sporadically
It has always been important to have speed around Harry Kane. The mix was wrong when Gareth Southgate tried to cram No 10s into the team at Euro 2024. It was a basic error. Kane loves to act as a playmaker but that means having runners around him.
Tuchel realises that. His structure is clear: a No 6, a No 8, a No 10 and two specialist wingers either side of Kane. Saka is the obvious pick on the right, but what about the left? The dream scenario is Marcus Rashford becoming England’s Son Heung-min. Kane loved dropping off and releasing Son when they were teammates at Tottenham.
Rashford, starting in place of the injured Anthony Gordon, could be similarly effective. Tuchel says he can be world class. The challenge is improving his numbers.
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This was another night when Rashford left you wanting more. There were some gorgeous touches – a dashing nutmeg, a zigzagging run near the left byline, a lovely piece of control – but the end product was lacking. A failure to release Declan Rice during the first half was poor. The position is open. Rashford did not do enough before being replaced by Eze, whose inventive dribbling and unpredictable movement gave England a different feel.
4. Nothing false about the Foot
Tuchel believes Kane, Bellingham and Foden cannot start together in England’s current system. There was only room for two when England rang the changes. Bellingham came on at No 10 and Kane withdrew to allow Foden to slot in as a false 9.
It is important that England work out a way to play without Kane, who has often laboured at tournaments. Tuchel’s decision not to name another No 9 in this squad is intriguing. The logic seems to be that Foden is simply a better footballer than, say, Ollie Watkins, meaning there is more upside to getting him on the pitch.
The experiment took a while to catch fire here. It burst into life when Bellingham found Foden in space. Foden drove at Serbia and teed up Eze to whip a stunning shot into the top corner.
5. Konsa keeps it clean
It was another clean sheet for England, although there were a couple of scares. Dusan Vlahovic should have equalised and there were times when the defence looked uncertain. Marc Guéhi might fancy his chances of replacing Ezri Konsa and establishing himself as John Stones’s partner. However, Konsa made a crucial late block to deny Serbia.
