England vs Serbia live updates: Hosts lead World Cup qualifier after Saka opener at Wembley – The New York Times

International Football
2026 World
Cup Countdown
live
Updated 16s ago
England lead 1-0 against Serbia in their 2026 World Cup qualifier at Wembley Stadium.
Bukayo Saka fired England ahead in the first half with a cool, side-footed volley after an earlier chance for Marcus Rashford.
Nico O’Reilly saw his deflected cross-shot hit the post later in the half.
85' England 1-0 Serbia
Where has this been from Serbia all night?
The introduction of Nemanja Radonjic on the left wing seems to have given them a fighting chance and he led the charge once again for the visitors a moment ago.
He fed the ball brilliantly into the feet of Vlahovic in the heart of the England penalty area. The Juventus striker flicked it up for himself and looked for a cushioned volley into Pickford's top corner, but just got too much of it and it sailed over.
Cushioned left-footed volleys are all the rage at Wembley tonight!
83' England 1-0 Serbia
The false nine? There are more than one of them after Kane's departure.
Currently Foden, Eze and Bellingham seem to be dipping in and out of the role, which is the perfect way to play the system. Keep the defenders guessing who they should be marking.
Fluidity is the key to that false-nine tactic working, otherwise it is just a number nine with a different player in the role and nothing false about it!
81' England 1-0 Serbia
And Serbia very nearly got themselves back on level terms!
A rare attack for the visitors, once again down the England right, and the ball bobbled its way to the feet of Jovic inside the penalty area. His low effort was blocked at source, spinning into the air and dropping nicely for substitute Lazar Samardzic.
Like Saka, he looked to cushion a volley into the far corner but narrowly missed the target.
Although I'm not sure it would have counted in any case, as the referee's whistle sounded immediately after it dropped wide.
79' England 1-0 Serbia
A wry smile plastered across Bellingham's face after he blazes — and I mean blazes — an effort 10 or 15 yards over the Serbia crossbar.
It is quite hard to see how this game is only 1-0, to be honest. The Serbia players, save for that Kostic break earlier on, have looked beaten ever since they walked out of the Wembley tunnel.
You certainly wouldn't have thought the visitors, with a lot of quality players, still have a World Cup place to play for watching their performance tonight.
Still, they're only a goal behind…
76' England 1-0 Serbia
I am no massive Jordan Henderson defender and Rob and Max raise good points about that substitution, but Henderson just delivered a wonderful cross into the Serbia penalty area that Foden headed wide.
Henderson's inclusion in squads while he was struggling at Ajax were hard to explain but, to his credit, he has been excellent for Brentford since signing in the summer.
He certainly isn't just being called up because he's a 'good character' anymore, and that's testament to his mindset.
75' England 1-0 Serbia
Not to bang the Adam Wharton drum again, but…
Even if a 35-year-old Jordan Henderson is your preferred central midfield ‘closer’, what do England have to lose by putting the Crystal Palace man on for half an hour in what is effectively a dead rubber against a decent opponent which England are winning?
And if you're not going to put him on, is ‘watching him run around cones in training’ without any real intention of using him a good enough reason to call him up?
74' England 1-0 Serbia
Interesting that Anderson is now playing further forward and Henderson is playing as the playmaker anchor following the changes.
Henderson has been the past and Anderson is the future for England, so I am not sure what that achieves.
73' England 1-0 Serbia
Bellingham has elevated this England performance already. He is so good at moving sleekly forward with the ball even in difficult conditions.
That was a lovely one-two with James there that forced a corner.
72' England 1-0 Serbia
Those aren't boos you can hear from the England fans, they are cries of Jude!
He has come on with a point to prove and looks exhilaratingly sharp. He exchanged a super one-two with James inside the Serbia penalty area before being thwarted by a piece of great defending to block his cross that was bound for the six-yard box.
I don't envy the Serbia defenders having to deal with such brilliant England substitutes coming on at this stage of the game…
69' England 1-0 Serbia
Perfectly timed changes, I reckon. England already look a lot sharper in the final third and Eze extracts oohs and aahs from the crowd with a lovely little flick.
The Foden false-nine experiment is now in full swing, although that seems a little hampered by losing Rashord — who would be one of the leading inside-forward candidates — from the left wing.
It's a very interesting attacking line-up for England now and shows us what we'd get if Kane was unavailable, I suppose.
66' England 1-0 Serbia
I believe the phrase here is "Phil Foden false 9 klaxon".
65' England 1-0 Serbia
Tuchel opts for the lesser-seen quadruple change — ever the innovator, Thomas.
As expected, Foden and Bellingham have come into the game, as have Eze and Jordan Henderson.
Kane, Rogers, Rashford and Rice are the quartet withdrawn.
The biggest cheer of the lot was, undoubtedly, for Bellingham and there was a loud 'JUUUUDE' to match.
63' England 1-0 Serbia
We haven't seen anything at all from Serbia in this second half, but that was a really dangerous move from the visitors.
Filip Kostic burst away down the left wing and wasn't for catching, certainly not by Stones. His low cross into the box was a good one and was perhaps rolling for an Andrija Zivkovic tap-in.
Vlahovic took it off his toes with an inventive backheeled flick, but didn't quite get enough contact to divert it into the bottom corner.
That was a warning for England.
61' England 1-0 Serbia
A minute or so after that burst into the penalty area, Rashford slipped and seemed to jar his knee or ankle as he let fly from distance.
It doesn't look terminal, but he has been moving a little gingerly and Tuchel might use that as a way to make an attacking change.
59' England 1-0 Serbia
Rogers' slip highlighting how wet the pitch looks after making two nice one-touch passes in a move with Declan Rice and Harry Kane. England still on top but no second goal — and no subs — yet.
58' England 1-0 Serbia
The energy had just sagged a little in the stadium before that decibel-raising burst into the box from Rashford.
The growing swell of excitement was punctured a little by Rogers slipping and falling on his backside, though.
57' England 1-0 Serbia
Having seemingly been told what I am writing about them, the England attack roars back into life.
Rice into Kane into Rogers into Rashford in the blink of an eye and the Barcelona loanee went bursting into the penalty area. The ball eventually fell to Rogers but, in rather cartoon fashion, he slipped on his backside as he looked to get a shot away.
And then Kane went thundering into a slide tackle on the edge of his own box — that was a beauty!
55' England 1-0 Serbia
There has been precious little to get excited about since half-time — other than Rogers being penalised for two fouls in the space of roughly 25 seconds.
So, in the absence of anything interesting on the field, the television cameras pan to Bellingham and Foden warming up down on the sideline.
Tuchel isn't changing anything just yet, but I'm sure we aren't a million miles away from some changes. The front three of Saka, Kane and Rashford has done very little in the first 10 minutes of this second half.
52' England 1-0 Serbia
Much was made of his omission from the England squad in the last international break, but Bellingham's introduction would certainly get the fans off their seats.
Let’s see if he will get some minutes tonight.

source