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England continue their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign against Serbia in Belgrade today.
Thomas Tuchel's side beat Andorra 2-0 on Saturday to continue their 100 per cent start in Group K.
England are top of the group having won four from four so far, but second-placed Serbia will provide the toughest test so far.
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England 2 Andorra 0: Anderson best of the bunch as Tuchel’s team fail to set pulses racing
Elliott Anderson put forward a convincing case to be a significant part of the conversation after an impressive performance on his England debut.
The Nottingham Forest midfielder, who a couple of years ago was close to committing to playing for Scotland, looked totally at ease in an England shirt.
Constantly demanding the ball – 77 touches in the first half alone – Anderson was not just comfortable in possession but, encouragingly, keen to pass forward whenever possible.
Anderson was also involved in the opening goal and there could, and possibly should, have been a debut goal, too. Tuchel will have taken a lot of encouragement from Anderson’s wider contribution.
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Marcus Rashford has been one of Thomas Tuchel’s big projects since he became England head coach, bringing him back despite patchy club form in the hope he can find confidence and rhythm.
Playing high and wide on the left, Rashford looked desperate to impress. He ran with the ball, tried things, went past players, caught Andorra out with his clever movement. But the technical execution was never quite there.
Most tellingly, five minutes into the second half, he skewed a shot wide after Alvarez had saved from Eberechi Eze. It was the type of chance he used to be able to take in his sleep.
The left-wing slot in this team is still open. Anthony Gordon came on for Rashford and looked lively. And the better Jack Grealish does for Everton, the more pressure Tuchel will be under to find someone else.
So, what learnings from the underwhelming win in Birmingham?
Let The Athletic's Jack Pitt-Brooke and Stuart James take it away …
England, meanwhile, did beat minnows Andorra 2-0 at Villa Park on Saturday but failed to inspire with another largely turgid performance against extremely limited opposition.
All the usual platitudes apply about playing against a team with 11 men behind the ball and it being tough to break them down, though Thomas Tuchel will still have wanted more.
A Christian Garcia Gonzalez own goal midway through the first half and a Declan Rice header roughly midway through the second did the damage but England's 82 per cent of possession only yielded seven shots on target.
They will want to improve today in all aspects, both performance and result.
With that win, Serbia continued their unbeaten record to two wins and a draw from their three matches so far, seven points from a possible nine.
England remain atop Group K after a perfect record of four wins from four.
Their goal difference of +8 is double that of their nearest rival Serbia.
The two teams playing in Belgrade today are well placed to qualify for the World Cup, though if Serbia lose today they may be looking over their shoulder nervously at Albania and Latvia.
On Saturday, Serbia's first match since their most recent World Cup qualifier on June 10, they edged past Latvia 1-0.
In Riga, the Serbs dominated the stats (20 shots to eight, seven shots on target to two, 55 per cent of possession) but overall struggled to break down a stout and disciplined Latvia side.
Dusan Vlahovic of Juventus scored the only goal 12 minutes in and the favourites could not add to their tally.
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Is Thomas Tuchel the right man for England? Have England improved or worsened under his tenure so far? And how meaningful will it be if his side win tonight?
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Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi is fit for England’s World Cup qualifier against Serbia on Tuesday night.
Guehi was substituted for Ezri Konsa with 14 minutes left of the second half in England’s 2-0 win over Andorra on Saturday feeling his groin, but the head coach revealed yesterday evening that he will be fit to start in Belgrade.
Tuchel confirmed every England player came through training on Monday morning and will be ready to play.
“Everyone is available,” the 52-year-old said. “Everyone trained. We took care of Marc on the day of the game and yesterday, but everyone trained.”
Arsenal left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly, however, is the only player in the 24-man squad left out of the 23-man matchday squad, rested after his first 90 minutes of the season against Andorra.
That means Djed Spence or Tino Livramento are in line to start at left back today. Jarell Quansah, left out against Andorra, comes in.
Djed Spence’s call-up is just the latest chapter in a remarkable story. If he makes his debut, Tottenham's Spence, 25, will become the first openly Muslim player to represent England.
Last season, he had to wait until December to make his first start — 881 days after he joined from Middlesbrough in a deal worth up to £20million, but has not looked back since an assist and clean sheet against Southampton on December 15.
Tuchel does not have an obvious first-choice left-back ahead of next summer’s World Cup. Luke Shaw has constantly struggled for fitness while Myles Lewis-Skelly and Lewis Hall have not started yet this season.
Spence’s ability to cover both wings gives him an advantage over his peers but would it really surprise anybody if he went on to establish himself as Tuchel’s preferred option for England’s first group game?
He may well start tonight.
With the World Cup now just around the corner, Thomas Tuchel wants a more competitive feel for this England camp. It will give Tuchel the “stream-lined” feel that he wants going into the first of this autumn’s three camps.
Tuchel also wants a “tighter squad” and a “more competitive squad” this time, selecting 24 players rather than 26.
When Tuchel picked his first England squad back in March, he admitted that it was a “very difficult decision” not to include Anderson or Morgan Gibbs-White. He has this time. It means that the England midfield has a youthful look.
Both, plus Adam Wharton when fit and Morgan Rogers, will have a chance to prove themselves in the middle of the pitch and fight for the third midfield position alongside Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham.
While England are well-stocked at right-back, 1the competition for left-back is more open. Myles Lewis-Skelly has a chance to prove that he can shine there, while Tino Livramento has played there too. But there is also a first England senior call-up for Spence.
Halfway through last season Spence was sat on the periphery at Tottenham, still having never started a Premier League game for them. But when called into the team amid an injury crisis he was exceptional.
“It’s very well deserved,” Tuchel said. “He had a very strong end to the season, and a very strong start to this season. And everyone tells us he is very focused at the moment, he’s keen to get better, we can see this.”
Of course, some big-name players missed out, chiefly Trent Alexander-Arnold following his summer switch from Liverpool to Real Madrid.
When asked whether it was a sporting decision or to help the player adapt to his new life in Madrid, Tuchel said in his press conference that it was “all in the mix, but it is a competitive decision first and foremost”.
He added that Alexander-Arnold “was very clear that he’s desperate and keen to come back and play for England”. So why was he left out? Let's check in with our Real Madrid correspondent Mario Cortegana.
✍️ The ankle injury in March, the looming departure from Liverpool reducing his playing time at the end of last season, the move to Madrid, the link-up with England in June.
The presentation as a Madrid player just before their departure to the Club World Cup, starting to play matches without enough time to be prepared for it, the muscular issue in America, the lack of a normal-length pre-season…
He needs something very simple and yet often very difficult to find: time.
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The latest England squad brought plenty of interest.
John Stones, typically a centre back but who has spent some time in midfield for his club Manchester City, was apparently set for a defensive midfield role alongside Declan Rice. He withdrew due to injury.
There were high hopes for Crystal Palace's Adam Wharton, too, before he also pulled out, with an adductor injury.
In their place came Bayer Leverkusen centre-half Jarell Quansah, who moved from Liverpool this summer, and Milan midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who played under manager Thomas Tuchel when he was at Chelsea.
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), James Trafford (Manchester City)
Defenders: Dan Burn (Newcastle United), Marc Guéhi (Crystal Palace), Reece James (Chelsea), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Tino Livramento (Newcastle United), Djed Spence (Tottenham Hotspur), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen).
Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Milan), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa).
Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona, loan from Manchester United), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).
Serbia's squad is as follows.
Goalkeepers: Veljko Ilic (Widzew Lodz), Djordje Petrovic (Bournemouth), Dragan Rosic (Vojvodina).
Defenders: Sjrdan Babic (Spartak Moscow), Strahinja Erakovic (Zenit Saint Petersburg), Nikola Milenkovic (Nottingham Forest), Kosta Nedeljkovic (RB Leipzig, on loan from Aston Villa), Strahinja Pavlovic (Milan), Nemanja Stojic (Sochi), Aleksa Terzic (Red Bull Salzburg), Milos Veljkovic (Red Star Belgrade).
Midfielders: Veljko Birmancevic (Sparta Prague), Nemanja Gudelj (Sevilla), Aleksandar Katai (Red Star Belgrade), Ivan Ilic (Torino), Filip Kostic (Juventus), Sasa Lukic (Fulham), Nemanja Maksimovic (Shabab Al-Ahli), Uros Racic (Aris), Lazar Samardzic (Atalanta), Ognjen Ugresic (Partizan), Andrija Zivkovic (PAOK).
Forwards: Luka Jovic (AEK Athens), Aleksandar Mitrovic (Al-Rayyan), Nikola Stulic (Lecce), Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus).
Elsewhere in Group K, Albania face Latvia, with other UEFA World Cup qualifiers including France vs Iceland, Armenia facing the Republic of Ireland, Hungary playing Portugal, and Bosnia-Herzegovina clashing with Austria.
Wales vs Canada and an Antipodean battle between Australia and New Zealand number two of the international friendlies, with World Cup qualifiers on other continents including:
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Rajko Mitic Stadium, Belgrade
The match will take place at the biggest stadium by capacity in Serbia, situated in the Dedinje area of the country's capital and largest city.
Opened in 1963, its capacity is 51,755 and it is named after the legendary former player and coach.
It was once called Red Star Stadium, after the club Crvena Zvezda (Red Star Belgrade) who play there, and is nicknamed ‘Marakana’ after the iconic stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Its record attendance was 116,000 back in 1975, and though there won't be nearly as many as that today, it should still produce a loud and intimidating atmosphere.
For those looking to watch the action live on TV, alongside The Athletic's coverage of course, you can do so via the channels below.
The match begins at 8.45pm CEST, local time in Belgrade, which is 7.45pm BST for those in the UK.
Across the pond in the United States, that works out as 2.45pm ET and 11.45am PT on the east and west coast respectively.