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It was inevitably a low-key affair at Wembley, with England’s 2-0 victory over Serbia taking a bit of the international-friendly vibe for too long as Thomas Tuchel’s side failed to hit the heights of recent performances but were just fine nonetheless.
The game opened up a bit towards the end, with some of England’s key and real twin driving forces Serbia’s fast-paced hopes of salvaging anything from a disappointing qualifying campaign rested on grabbing a late equalizer. Before the Eberchies sealed the deal.
Eze joined Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham in making an important statement as second-half substitutes on a night when Marcus Rashford didn’t do enough to stake his claim to start on the left of England’s attack, and Nico O’Reilly became the latest in a growing list of England left-backs who have looked just fine.
Jordan Pickford
Although Serbia have created more chances than they have managed against England for most of this qualifying campaign, they have still had their usual number of genuine shots to save. His key contribution to the night’s proceedings was surely a genuine quad injury after a superlative opening quarter of the game, which by sheer incident allowed Thomas Tuchel to indulge his players in a bit of team talk that ended a fine five-minute spell in the game’s opening goal.
Give him a helping hand.
Race James
England’s first-choice right-back and it’s not particularly close. A cute little flick to get away from Jude Bellingham was a highlight of an otherwise generally uneventful and uneventful display. Please stay fit, please stay fit, please stay fit.
Which Ezri?
Staying with Dušan Vlahović and the Juventus striker being a shot away and his status as some squad member, a possible centre-back starter and handy right-back option when/if James breaks down, is again as secure as ever.
John Stone
We have essentially no notes for John Stones’ performance tonight. That’s rarely a bad thing for a centre-back.
Nico O’Reilly
Another left-wing debutant who has broken into the team and looked instantly and completely at home. We’re not sure it’s actually that helpful to have all these lefties coming in right now and all looking perfectly fine.
Because we don’t know what to do with the information. It will be necessary over the weeks and months that O’Reilly and DJED Spence and Miles Lewis Scully and Lewis Hall form a firm and unshakable opinion of the relative merits when the truth is that they are all perfectly fine.
Declan Rice
For both England and Arsenal there is a quiet, calm authority about it right now. A player who knows how good he is and is at absolute peace with what he is trying to achieve. And next summer the threat of a set piece will be such a big deal. A trademark corner from the left should have been assisted by Kane who nodded irresistibly wide, to his own surprise perhaps more than anyone else’s.
Elliot Anderson
Indeed, to think that Anderson is only two months old in England’s engine room as a certain starter alongside Declan Rice, as a concept. Another calm and efficient performance that was somehow unsettling because of that tweet.
Wow, Elliott Anderson has Richard Gere’s face, never realized it
– Adam Harry (footballcliches) November 13, 2025
Bokyo Saka
In the last international break against Wales, the position flared over the bar expertly found by Harry Kane from close range but then Nico O’Reilly’s shot from a corner was sent arcing his way.
It was a bit quiet for a while after that, to the point where we thought he might be injured. He wasn’t, just his boot. So that was a relief. England’s attack burst into life as the England attack was given a real shot in the arm by the arrival of second-half substitutes in every attacking position apart from Saka.
Morgan Rogers
It was fine, but it wasn’t a fine night. He’s a fine player, and a fine back-up to Yehud Bellingham, but the idea that he might be a starting No.10 in place of the Real Madrid man.
This is in no way meant as a criticism, you understand. Acceptance of only objective reality. Rogers: Really great. Bellingham: Better. There is no shame in that.
Marcus Rashford
A beautiful interplay with Nico O’Reilly and Declan Rice allowed Tuchel to turn his players’ ears for a minute on 20 minutes, England’s first real opener after a questionably useful time following an injury to the modest Jordan Pickford.
It was an entertaining and lively hour and a bit from Rashford, but the brutal reality is that he had two half-way chances and both of them were put straight at the keeper. The end product that could have kept him decisively clear of the hapless Anthony Gordon in one of the few real battles for the starting spot just wasn’t there. And it didn’t help in any of them to see Eze come on and have such fun in the last 25 minutes.
Read: Answering Bellingham’s question over Rashford’s missed chance, Foden eases England’s Kane problem
Harry Kane
It’s interesting to see the real-time memory of the fact that Harry Kane has basically been playing exactly the same way for club and country for a decade now. And often find absolute pelters for it. Yes, he made an important tackle as a centre-back. Yes, he popped in six and eight and 10 and even 11 as well as nine. It does, what it always is – with the important caveat of ‘when quite fit’ as it wasn’t in Euro – what it was.
It still seems strange to us that so many people are now more impressed that Kane is doing things like this while playing for a strong team in a weak league when he did it for a weak team in the strongest league.
Alternative
Jude Bellingham (for Rogers, 65)
Clearly a key moment of a short evening, and it was one that managed to distract England fans from even looking at paper airplanes as England’s attacking enterprise certainly came to a head after a distinctly international-friendly-friendly off-change.
England’s second goal was absolutely dripping in #quirkyness, as was a combination of three subs with a point to prove it. Bellingham’s power and technique got the ball rolling at the start of the move before Phil Foden set up Aberchie to finish. Its impact on the outcome of the match didn’t really matter, but it felt like it could prove to be a very important goal for England nonetheless.
Jordan Henderson (for Rice, 65)
He’s got a very clear role in this squad, hasn’t he? And you know what? Much to our surprise, we’re fine with it.
Bless the King (for Rashford, 65)
Great fun Yes, it can be tough to compare the contribution of all that to the tough slog a starter gets for 25 minutes in a tired defense, but Eze has righted himself in the conversation regarding his place on the left side of England’s attack.
A squad already confident of their ability and versatility in attacking positions around Harry Kane (or, for that matter, Phil Foden) has inserted itself into the Gordon-Rashford starting debate. His goal was amazingly well taken and one of the big winners of the night after being perfectly saved by Phil Foden. In terms of big-picture warfare.
Phil Foden (for Kane, 65)
Tuchel called ‘one half’ before the match in the absence of Ollie Watkins and therefore any specialist striker to play the all-important non-Can cameo minutes at the end of a frivolous qualifier.
And that was… awesome. The perfect weight of the pass to set up Eze’s game-clinching goal was an obvious highlight, but he was busy and fluid in such a hybrid attacking position. Clearly possessing the technique and footballing acumen to play the role, and with a truly compelling backup striker around at the moment, Tuchel has hit upon an ingenious way to add just one elite attacking talent who has never really found his role with England.
Adam Wharton (for Anderson, 85)
A brief but important cameo, as Wharton’s talent really feels special to us and distinctly different from what other midfielders have offered. It looks like he could do a lot to reward Rice’s Anderson pivot as a starting pairing now, which is fine because they’re both excellent, but we’d really like to keep him as an option next summer.
