England and Serbia meet for the seventh-match in Group K of the UEFA 2026 World Cup Qualifiers. As the Three Lions have already punched their ticket to the biggest tournament in world soccer, manager Thomas Tuchel decided to leave Jude Bellingham out of the starting XI.
Though Bellingham has been battling injuries for a while in the season, he was fully healthy to play for his national team against Serbia at Wembley Stadium. However, the coaching staff opted to go a different route.
As reported by The Athletic’s David Ornstein, England national team coach Thomas Tuchel has decided to keep Morgan Rogers in the lineup, with the Aston Villa midfielder set to play in the No. 10 role.
England’s team to host Serbia
England takes on Serbia at home in London for the second-to-last game of the UEFA 2026 World Cup Qualifiers. Aside from Rogers’ inclusion in the starting lineup, the rest of the team holds few surprises, with most of The Three Lions’ household names set to be on the pitch from kick-off.
England comes out with a 4-2-3-1 design. Jordan Pickford will be in net. Reese James will be at right-back, with John Stones and Ezri Konsa as centrebacks, and Nico O’Reilly in the left side of the defense. At midfield, Elliot Anderson and Declan Rice will split the duties. Ahead of them, a three-headed monster with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Morgan Rogers, and Marcus Rashford takes over. The cherry on top is none other than striker Harry Kane. Phil Foden will join Jude Bellingham on the bench.
Serbia’s lineup
As for the Serbian side, they will be tasked with a monstrous order to try and take down the English side in front of their fans. Serbia must win, and hope for Albania not to do likewise, in order to get ahold of the final ticket to the playoff round for the FIFA 2026 World Cup. The following will be playing for Serbia.
Serbia will come out on a 4-5-1 look. Predrag Rajkovic will start in goal for Serbia. Four defenders will be tasked with keeping England’s attacking threats in check: Aleksa Terzic, Strahinja Pavlovic, Nikola Milenkovic, and Ognjen Mimovic. In midfield, Filip Kostic, Sasa Lukic, Nemanja Gudelj, Ivan Ilic, and Andrija Zivkovic will look to control possession, while Dusan Vlahovic will lead the line as the lone striker. In Juventus’ star lies Serbia’s joker card, and their hopes of making the World Cup.