England host Serbia in their penultimate World Cup 2026 qualifier this evening secure in the knowledge that they have already booked their place in next summer’s tournament.
Beating Latvia in last month’s qualifiers ensured that England will finish top of Group K regardless of the results in their final two qualifiers meaning there is now scope of Thomas Tuchel to fine-tune his side ahead of the competition.
The England boss has just two camps left before the tournament begins and he will want to determine which players are guaranteed a spot on the plane to Mexico, Canada and the United States.
Recalls for Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden, as well as a first call-up for Bournemouth’s Alex Scott, will give Tuchel plenty to ponder over the next two games with a plethora of strong options needing to be whittled down.
Yet for Serbia a positive result tonight is paramount. They are vying for second place in the Group and will to improve against an England side that defeated them 5-0 in their last meeting.
Follow all the build-up and updates from the World Cup Qualifier with our live blog below:
Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers in ‘competition’ for England place
“Rather than finding a position for the best players to have them on the field, it is maybe better to put everyone in their best position and have a competition,” Tuchel said.
“At the moment, the competition is between the two of them. They are friends, so it is a friendly competition. They don’t have to be enemies and hate each other. They are respectful and they fight for the same position.
“Can they play together? Yes, but in a different structure and now is not the moment to change the structure.”
Which teams have already qualified for the World Cup?
Before a ball is kicked this evening, the only European nation to have ensured their place at next summer’s World Cup is England, who sealed top spot in Group K after thrashing Latvia last month.
But across the other continents, participants are beginning to take shape…
Qualifying places available: Nine, plus one into intercontinental play-offs
Teams already qualified: Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Cape Verde, South Africa, Senegal, Ivory Coast
Qualifying places available: Eight, plus one into intercontinental play-offs
Teams qualified: Japan, Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Jordan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar
Qualifying places available: One, plus one into intercontinental play-offs
Teams qualified: New Zealand
Qualifying places available: Six (including three hosts USA, Canada and Mexico), plus two into intercontinental play-offs
Teams already qualified: None through qualifying (USA, Canada and Mexico automatically as co-hosts)
Who can qualify for the World Cup this week?
World Cup qualifying is hurtling towards a conclusion with some of the final places ahead of the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico up for grabs over the next two weeks.
So far, 28 teams have booked their places in what has already been a historic campaign for three first-time qualifiers, with Jordan, Uzbekistan and the Cape Verde islands all through to the 48-team finals.
Jamie Braidwood breaks down who can ensure their participation at next summer’s finals:
Predicted line-ups
England XI: Pickford; James, Konsa, Stones, Burn; Anderson, Rice; Saka, Rogers, Rashford; Kane.
Serbia XI: Petrovic; Milosavljevic, Milenkovic, Pavlovic; Gudelj, Lukic; Zivkovic, Samardzic, Kostic; Vlahovic, Jovic.
Serbia team news
Serbia will lament the absence of all-time top scorer Aleksandr Mitrovic, who missed out on the November squad to an unspecified problem.
The onus will turn to Juventus duo Dusan Vlahovic and Filip Kostic, as well as Luka Jovic, for goals.
England team news
Marc Guehi has been ruled out due to a heavy bone bruise and Morgan Rogers may not start due to a hamstring niggle.
Uncapped Alex Scott has reportedly been left out of the squad but Nico O’Reilly and Jarell Quansah could be in line for their first appearances, while headline inclusions Bellingham and Foden will be keen to force their way straight back into the starting XI.
Is England vs Serbia on TV?
England’s qualifying clash with Serbia takes place at 7:45pm GMT on Thursday 13 November at Wembley Stadium in London.
How can I watch it?
The game will be free-to-air on the UK with viewers able to watch on ITV1, while also being able to stream the contest on ITVX. Coverage starts at 7pm GMT.
England vs Serbia LIVE!
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s live coverage of England’s penultimate World Cup qualifier against Serbia.
The Three Lions ensured that nothing will knock them off top spot of Group K when they thrashed Latvia last month, booking their flight bound for North America in doing so.
While performance will be the key talking point for England, result is all that matters for Serbia who are still vying for a precious second-place finish under new management. They’ll need a better outcome than they experienced in Belgrade back in September, though, which saw England come out rampant 5-0 winners.
Stay tuned for all the latest build-up, team news and minute-by-minute match updates from Wembley!
