A record not achieved by an England manager since 1990 hangs in the balance as the Three Lions beat Serbia 1-0 at Wembley on Thursday night.
Thomas Tuchel’s side have not conceded a goal in their World Cup qualifying campaign for the first time in 35 years.
But I doubt it has made any England fans more confident heading into 2026.
There is no denying that the question on everyone’s minds heading into Thursday’s penultimate World Cup Qualifier against Serbia was the role Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham will play.
After being left out of the October selection, the Former Dortmund and Birmingham City midfielder was named by Thomas Tuchel for the final two games of 2025.
But the one nailed-on starter found himself on the bench as he now faces a huge fight for his starting spot in the wake of Morgan Rogers’ superb performances throughout the campaign.
O’Reilly’s first-half contribution would have given Tuchel much to think about heading into the new year
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The Aston Villa star had made no exception for tonight’s clash, being a standout player on and off the ball, leaving Tuchel with a growing dilemma.
What was immediately apparent was Wembley Stadium’s support for their Number 10, with the La Liga star receiving arguably the loudest cheer from the Three Lions fans when the lineups were read out.
Despite only making his senior England debut in 2020, Bellingham is very much a hero amongst England fans for his pivotal role in the 2022 World Cup and 2024 Euros.
Without his remarkable late bicycle kick to tie the game, the Three Lions would have crashed out to Slovakia in the round of 16.
Jude Bellingham was named on the bench, coming on in the second half with a point to prove
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Signs reading, “Jude, give us a wave”, were on display among the St George’s flags in the crowd, consisting of over 74,000 passionate supporters.
When he did eventually enter the pitch, he was far from extraordinary.
Captain Harry Kane’s and starboy Bakayo Saka’s names were also met with an unsurprising roar.
There were many top performers in Wembley as Storm Claudia brought a yellow weather warning and non-stop rain throughout the evening.
England, already qualified as group winners, set up in their usual 4-3-3 formation.
The Serbians looked unwilling, threatless and overall unremarkable in the opening 30 minutes, as England dominated large periods of play.
The first real chance came from a cut-in from Saka before the Arsenal winger miscued his signature shot well wide of the far post.
Jordan Pickford went to the ground holding his leg 20 minutes in, although after receiving less than a minute of treatment and likely providing time for Tuchel to deliver instructions to his team, the England No1 was back on his feet.
Rashford, who is currently leading La Liga in assists, appeared to be back to his former Manchester United glory days as England’s most direct threat heading forward in the early stages.
The former Premier League star had the first shot on goal, which resulted in a comfortable catch from Serbian keeper Predrag Rajkovic after a nice one-two with Nico O’Reilly on the left-hand side.
His confidence continued to flow, with silky tricks and a desire to get in behind the defence.
It was Saka who opened the scoring after 27 minutes with a mesmerising first-time side-footed volley from a blocked O’Reilly shot.
Thomas Tuchel’s side has not conceded a goal in their World Cup qualifying campaign
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The debutant was inches away from a second goal involvement as a deflected cross was heading for the near post before the keeper got a much-needed glove on the ball.
Likely to have been classed as an own goal, O’Reilly’s first-half contribution would have given Tuchel much to think about heading into the new year.
Manchester City’s youngest was impressive going forward, combining with Rashford, but often left room behind him for the Serbs to exploit.
Reece James had similar issues, especially in the early stages of the second half, when he was caught out on the break, nearly leading to England’s first goal conceded of the campaign.
As a fan, you can’t help thinking that a world-class winger would be less forgiving with opportunities like these.
Kane led from the front, playing a more supportive role to his fellow attackers, threatening through balls and even tracking back to make a perfectly timed sliding challenge in England’s own box.
This was, of course, met by a Three Lions roar from supporters.
Foden carried the ball from near the halfway line before playing a wonderfully weighted pass to Eze, who proceeded to curl the ball into the top right corner
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Tuchel turned to the bench after 64 minutes to bring on four attacking subs.
Bellingham came off the bench with a point to prove, met by the loudest cheer of the night as England fans made their feelings clear.
Phil Foden, Eberechi Eze, and Jordan Henderson also entered play, who will all be hoping to lock down a spot on the plane across the Atlantic next summer.
This Tuchel U-turn came as a surprise, as the German had told the media the previous week that the pair could not feature together within his preferred tactical framework.
Foden and Eze linked up to net England’s second, minutes after the latter hit the crossbar in the final minutes of regulation.
The Manchester City forward carried the ball from near the halfway line before playing a wonderfully weighted pass to the Arsenal star, who proceeded to curl the ball into the top right corner.
England were impressive in parts, but it remains too early to determine whether they might just be able to challenge for glory at the 2026 World Cup.
Although they enter their final qualifier having conceded no goals and delivered solid performances, one can help but wonder if England fans desire more than a 2-0 win against Serbia.
