Harry Kane says Serbia rout a 'starting point' for Thomas Tuchel's England after 'a lot of noise' over performances
Updated 10/09/2025 at 10:55 GMT+1
Harry Kane described England's 5-0 victory over Serbia in FIFA World Cup qualifying as a "starting point" for their aspirations under Thomas Tuchel, after being subjected to a "lot of noise" around their performances under the German coach thus far. Kane was on the scoresheet as England continued their perfect run and staunch defensive record in their bid to qualify for next year's tournament.
‘Teamwork in its purest form’ – Tuchel on England's 5-0 win over Serbia
Video credit: SNTV
England captain Harry Kane said his side's 5-0 win over Serbia on Tuesday was "a starting point" under Thomas Tuchel, after "a lot of noise" over their previous performances.
Kane netted the opener in Belgrade as England recorded their biggest victory under Tuchel, ensuring their perfect FIFA World Cup qualifying record remained intact, while they have also yet to concede a goal in their bid to qualify for next year's tournament.
England's prior performances in the slender victories over Andorra and Albania attracted some critics, but Kane said the squad have been content with their levels despite the external rumblings.
"There’s been a lot of noise around the outside performing like that," Kane told ITV. "We’ve been happy with what we’ve been doing.
"It’s not been easy against some of the opposition who sit in a block of 11. We have to break it down, we have to be patient.
"Even the game a few days ago [against Andorra], even though it was only 2-0, we feel like we did a lot of things well.
"We knew tonight would be a really tough test against better opposition, better players, but we said we want to show what we can do with the high pressure and make it difficult for them.
"They played a lot of long balls, we recovered well. With the ball, we were electric in moments and made it really difficult."
Tuchel opted to start Anthony Gordon, Morgan Rogers and Noni Madueke behind Kane in Serbia, and the forward quartet combined with some free-flowing moves - the most notable of which seeing Madueke score his maiden England goal following a fine flick from Rogers.
Kane suggested that is an early indication of what the team is capable of under Tuchel.
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"We spoke earlier in the week about [how] this is the time, the competition starts now," Kane said.
"The formation, the way we play, is almost going to be set in stone. There might be some games we have to change a little bit, but we want to play our way.
"Our way is like that tonight. On the front foot, win the ball back quick and when we lose the ball, we recover well.
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Video credit: SNTV
"Lots of movement, lots of pace. You could say today is the perfect template. We’re going to have difficult games from now until the World Cup, but we can use this as a starting point of the standards being really high."
With victory on Tuesday, England created a comfortable eight-point cushion over third-placed Serbia in the group, having played a match more than their hosts in Belgrade.
Tuchel's side next face Wales in a friendly on October 9 before their World Cup qualifying bid continues against Latvia five days later.
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