Serbia 0-5 England result Five-star England dominate in Belgrade to take charge of Group K in FIFA World Cup European qualifying

Three England players bagged their first international goals as England ran riot in Belgrade, beating Serbia 5-0 to go seven points clear at the top of Group K and take complete control of their World Cup qualifying fate.

Harry Kane opened the scoring for England with a deft angled header from a Declan Rice corner, and the lively Noni Madueke made it 2-0 before half-time with the pick of the goals. Madueke played a big role earlier in the build-up before making a blistering run, and he was picked out by a combination of Elliot Anderson’s pass and Morgan Rogers’ exquisite flick around the corner, before the Arsenal winger cut into the box and finished superbly for his debut England goal.

England continued to dominate in the second half as Serbia opened up slightly, and two more debut scorers got on the board, with Ezri Konsa and and Marc Guehi both finishing from close range.

Serbia went down to 10 men for the last 17 minutes after Nottingham Forest's Nikola Milenkovic scythed down Kane, failing to persuade the referee that the England forward was going away from goal, and Marcus Rashford made it 5-0 late-on from the spot after Ollie Watkins was felled in the box.

The result puts England well clear at the top of their qualifying group, but, perhaps more importantly, the performance showed clear signs that Thomas Tuchel’s England have a tactical plan and shape that can work.

This excellent finish from Madueke in the first half was the best goal of the night, with the winger being one of three players to score their first full international goals.

Stream the Premier League, Men’s and Women’s FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League and more on TNT Sports and discovery+.

This fixture was the biggest competitive test that England have had since Thomas Tuchel took over as manager, with grumblings growing louder that it wasn’t clicking under the new boss. But this display in Belgrade is an emphatic way to silence the critics, with England dominating Serbia with a performance that saw plenty of movement, depth to their attack, and balance in midfield. Serbia had little answer to the array of England’s threat, and the game was already long-gone as a contest before the hosts were reduced to ten men. That’s the tournament blueprint – brilliantly balanced.

The final whistle goes and England celebrate a superb win on the road, hitting five past Serbia.

The board shows three minutes to be added on at the end of this game. Three loud blasts come from the stands as the home fans try and wrap it up early, but play continues.

It’s Marcus Rashford who steps up to take the penalty, stuttering towards the ball to force the keeper to move before rolling his finish into the far corner. 5-0!

After a long VAR review the referee heads to the screen, where replays show that there was a foul on Watkins. The forward definitely made the most of it, but it’s a penalty.

This is the result, and arguably performance, that Tuchel’s England needed – a real statement win. They are dominating now and appeal for a penalty after a brilliant run and lay-off from Rashford finds Watkins, who hits the deck under pressure.

Bowen shoots across goal and Watkins stretches out a boot to turn it home at the far post, but he was clearly offside, and he knew it too. The flag goes up and the goal is chalked off.

Rice won’t get the goal that he tried so hard for tonight, coming across to give the captain’s armband to Henderson, who is the fifth and final change this evening.

The substitute darts across the box, skipping inside two defenders, before lashing a shot on target that the keeper turns around the post. Moments later Rice is denied at the near post, shooting for the umpteenth time this evening.

First-half goalscorers Kane and Madueke are given a rest, with Watkins and Bowen coming on.

England are running riot. Rice whips a cross in from the free-kick where Kane was felled, and it’s in the perfect spot to leave the keeper rooted to his spot, with Guehi getting the better of his marker to meet it first and finish. 4-0.

Harry Kane bursts into space onto a long pass forward and touches the ball around the Serbia captain. Milenkovic scythes him down and he was last man… the referee pulls out a straight red. The argument against that decision would be that Kane’s touch was sending him quite wide, but VAR doesn’t see a reason to overturn the red and the hosts are down to ten.

The familiar face of Mitrovic is introduced into the Serbian attack off the bench.

It’s an England debut for Djed Spence, who comes on to replace the excellent James at right-back. Rashford also replaces Gordon on the left.

Reports suggest that there was an issue in the stands, a political dispute between Serbian fans, that led to that police intervention moments ago.

Police are entering the ground in large numbers and sections of the crowd are dispersing to safer areas, as something kicks off in the stands. It’s in the home section but not entirely clear what is happening. Just a reminder that Serbia are serving a partial stadium ban tonight (15%) and will be under a lot of attention from the FIFA and UEFA tonight.

Kane puts big pressure on as Serbia look to clear, and deflects a clearance right to the edge of the box. Gordon and Rice link up, with the latter shooting but once again failing to make a decent connection. This was the best of his chances tonight.