England resume their 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifying campaign with arguably their toughest game on Tuesday, away at Serbia.
Thomas Tuchel's side are on top of Group K after four wins from four games, but the 2-0 win against minnows Andorra at Villa Park on Saturday did nothing to ease concerns about England's performance level under the German manager so far. .
Elliot Anderson had an impressive debut, but it was a largely forgettable evening for England. Still, Tuchel said after the game that he saw more positives than negatives in that game, and that England are now ready to prove a point in their next game.
An England win here will not confirm their place at next year's World Cup, but it will put them in a very good position, as they would move eight points clear of Serbia having played a game more. England have qualifying games remaining away in Latvia and Albania, either side of the return fixture against Serbia at Wembley.
Serbia have only played three games in Group K so far, winning two -- against Latvia and Andorra -- and drawing against Albania. The beat Latvia 1-0 on Friday, with Dusan Vlahovic's eary goal proving to be the difference in the end.
The last time that England and Serbia met was at Euro 2024, where Jude Bellingham's early goal was the only one of the game.
Here's everything you need to know ahead of Tuesday's match.
How to watch:
The game will be available on ITV in the U.K., Fox Sports in the United States, Stan Sport in Australia, and SonyLIV in India. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Date: Tuesday, September 09, 7:45 p.m. BST (2:45 p.m. ET; 12.15 a.m. IST, Wednesday and 4:45 a.m. AEST, Wednesday).
Venue: Rajko Mitic Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia.
Referee: Clement Turpin (France).
VAR: Willy Delajod (France).
Expected Lineups:
Serbia (3-5-2)
GK: Djordje Petrovic
CB: Milos Veljkovic | CB: Nikola Milenkovic | CB: Strahinja Pavlovic
RWB: Andrija Zivkovic | CM: Ivan Ilic | CM: Sasa Lukic | CM: Aleksandar Katai | LWB: Filip Kostic
CF: Dusan Vlahovic | CF: Aleksandar Mitrovic
England (4-2-3-1)
GK: Jordan Pickford
RB: Reece James | CB: Dan Burn | CB: Marc Guéhi | LB: Djed Spence
CM: Elliot Anderson | CM: Declan Rice
RW: Noni Madueke | CAM: Eberechi Eze | LW: Marcus Rashford
CF: Harry Kane
Stats:
England have only played Serbia once before, which was their 1-0 win at Euro 2024.
England are ranked fourth in the world in FIFA rankings, while Serbia are ranked 32nd.
Djed Spence could become the first Muslim player to represent England should he make an appearance.
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