The latest England team news and predicted line-up ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Serbia.
England face what will likely be the toughest test of the campaign to qualify for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday evening when they travel to Belgrade to face Serbia, knowing that a win would leave them with one foot on the plane to the United States.
Thomas Tuchel will have to earn that win with several key players absent through injury, although he can count himself fortunate that the Three Lions appear to have come through Saturday’s dreary 2-0 win over Andorra unscathed.
We’ve got all the latest England team news ahead of the match against Serbia below, along with a predicted line-up for the showdown at the famously hostile Marakana stadium.
Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer & Bukayo Saka unavailable out but no new injuries
Tuchel’s preparations for the latest round of international matches were seriously hampered by a string of injuries to key creative players in the build-up, while his options in defence and midfield were also depleted before the players travelled to Villa Park for the game against Andorra.
Cole Palmer (groin) and Bukayo Saka (hamstring) picked up injuries before the squad was named while Jude Bellingham continues to recover from shoulder surgery. Bellingham is also a doubt for October’s international matches, although both Palmer and Saka should be available for the games against Wales and Latvia if required.
Adam Wharton (adductor) was injured during Crystal Palace’s 3-0 win over Aston Villa after he was called up and was forced to withdraw from the squad, while John Stones left the training camp at St. George’s Park after suffering an unspecified muscular injury. Tuchel later revealed that he had planned to experiment with playing Stones in a midfield role against Andorra.
Fortunately, England appear to have come through their win over Andorra unscathed, and Tuchel is not expected to be handed any further headaches prior to Tuesday night.
Jarrod Bowen & Reece James among likely starters in Serbia
England’s line-up against Andorra gives us a number of clues as to how Tuchel will line up for the crucial match against Serbia, with the German coach putting out a line-up that was considerably less experimental than many pundits had anticipated.
Jordan Pickford started in goal, while the back four of Myles Lewis-Skelly, Dan Burn, Marc Guéhi and Reece James seems likely to be Tuchel’s first choice moving forward. Elliot Anderson’s impressive debut performance also suggests that he will start again alongside goalscorer Declan Rice in midfield.
There may be more changes further forward. Jarrod Bowen and Anthony Gordon are likely to be handed starts over Marcus Rashford and Noni Madueke on the wings after neither of the wide forwards who began the game against Andorra were able to impress, while Morgan Gibbs-White could push for Eberechi Eze’s number ten role after the new Arsenal signing struggled to make an impact over the weekend. Captain Harry Kane will almost certainly continue up front.
Full England predicted line-up vs. Serbia: Pickford; Lewis-Skelly, Burn, Guéhi, James; Rice, Anderson; Gordon, Eze, Bowen; Kane.
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