England – Serbia: Faultless World Cup Qualification Continues For The Three Lions (2-0)
Thomas Tuchel will take no great plaudits for bringing one of the best nations in the game into the World Cup, but he is taking value from every encounter that allows him to construct firm foundations for his project as the manager of a nation with high expectations. With another professional performance under their belt, the Three Lions are ending the year on a high.
Tactical analysis and match report by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere.
England are counting down the months until the showpiece event of next summer commences. Under the oft-maligned Gareth Southgate, the nation was allowed to dream again, reaching the final of the European Championships twice and the semi-final of the World Cup once. However, the team could not quite put all the pieces together to get the better of the likes of Italy, France, and Spain in the critical moments. Will Thomas Tuchel be the man to mastermind more history for the Three Lions?
Time will tell, but the German has ticked off his first major task with World Cup qualification in the bag after a 5-0 drubbing of Latvia last month. Serbia are the penultimate opposition in their qualifying group, and it has been a time of change for the national team. A 5-0 rout in Belgrade against England was the beginning of the end for Dragan Stojković, who was sacked in October. Veljko Paunović has emerged as his replacement, and aspirations of a place in the competition were top on the agenda.
Paunović picked his first lineup with a switch in system in mind. His predecessor preferred a formation with three central defenders, but the new coach chose a back four to field for this fixture: Strahinja Pavlović and Nikola Milenković anchored the backline. Nemanja Gudelj gave extra stability at the base of a five man midfield with Ivan Ilić and Saša Lukić. Aleksandar Mitrović missed the matchday squad with an unspecified injury, so Dušan Vlahović got the nod as the starting striker.
Tuchel threw out the idea of extensive rotation for this game, sending out a strong side. Ezri Konsa came into central defense next to John Stones after a bruised bone for Marc Guehi ruled him out. Nico O’Reilly earned his first start for England at left back and Reece James remains a key puzzle piece at right back. Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson acted as two deeper midfielders behind Morgan Rogers, Bukayo Saka started on the right wing, Marcus Rashford took the left, and Harry Kane was upfront.
Saka and Kane continue to star
Against Serbia in September, Tuchel experimented with a midfield balance that he has liked going forwards. Anderson acts as a screener who can ride challenges well and sharply progress the ball. Rice then gets to drop deeper in a pivot but also has the freedom to go beyond the ball and attack the box. Rogers completes the trio as a right sided central figure who plays off the dropping Kane.
Tuchel has identified pillars for the team to set the standards on the field. Since his return to the setup from his hamstring injury, Saka has stood out for the Three Lions. A willing outlet for James at right back, the winger showed his usual strength on the ball under challenges and engineered a number of exit angles to work the ball inside to dangerous areas of the pitch as Rashford was isolated on the left.
The explosiveness and surprise factor from Rashford was also a welcome addition to the team while wide receptions for the forward built the path toward accessing one of their other key players in Kane. The striker has mastered the art of dropping into pockets at the right moments and his abilities as a playmaker to sharply switch the play continue to be one of the most important tools in the attack.
18th minute: offensive sequence from England. O’Reilly moved into an underlapping role and dragged the defenders away from Kane. He sets himself correctly to stay balanced and takes a touch around Gudelj that immediately sets a first time switch to Saka who arrives favorably in the final third.
The first half was not the most inspiring, with more half chances than clear cut opportunities of note. However, the hosts would produce enough pressure to break the deadlock with a quality finish.
England accelerated the game again through Kane, who slung a switch towards Saka. The winger went inside as James underlapped him on the right flank, but the shot was blocked. Anderson chased after the loose ball, and Pavlović barreled into the midfielder, giving away a free kick. Predrag Rajković punched away Rice’s set-piece, and the ball fell for O’Reilly, whose own effort was deflected. Saka adjusted, swiveling his hips to set for a volley, and guided the ball into the net.
Serbia grow into the game
The guests continued to defend deeper, and they had few chances to get up the pitch. Rajković knocked the ball downfield for Vlahović to chase, hold up and link with his teammates. The striker struggled to consistently assert himself against Konsa and Stones, so the out ball was limited.
Tuchel continues to encourage his players to be proactive in their defensive work, and England set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation without the ball. Kane stood to the left, Rice repeatedly jumped out of the midfield to increase the intensity in the pressure, and Anderson was on hand behind him to help to manage the second balls and stabilize possession once turnovers took place in front of the back four.
Only on a couple of occasions did Vlahović or Filip Kostić get free from their markers, run the ball down the channels, and generate threat. Set-pieces were the biggest problem for the Three Lions to handle before the break, but nothing substantive came out of those moments during the first half.
The pressing was a little less consistent in the second half as Serbia started to connect the passes down their left side through the midfield and Kostić kept looking to turn James as attacks accelerated. The winger watched his cutback come off Vlahović’s heel and fly wide of the target before a headed effort was deflected and Lazar Samardžić steered a volley wide of the mark from three similar situations.
64th minute: offensive sequence from Serbia. Saka stepped forward to try to press Pavlović, but the central defender drove through the pressure and as Lukić pinned Rogers backwards, Stanković swept the ball towards Kostić, who forced Konsa to turn and retreat on the cover, looking for a foul.
Squad depth decides the contest
Tuchel made four changes in the 65th minute. Jordan Henderson replaced Rice, wearing the armband as Kane also came off the field. Phil Foden filled in the role of a central forward, Jude Bellingham stepped in for Rogers as the attacking midfielder, and Rashford exited for Eberechi Eze on the left.
Their cameos conveyed the quality that is in the ranks of Tuchel’s team. Foden continues to impress with his technical quality on the half turn, Bellingham impresses with his willingness to break into the box, and Eze offered glimpses of his creativity with shifty movement and passing from the left flank.
Foden flashed a header wide of the target, clipped a chipped pass that Eze turned indirectly onto the crossbar, and Bellingham was inches away from an assist after connecting with James on the right side of the penalty area. The game was starting to open up for both sides and hung in the balance.
The guests kept pushing, and with seconds of normal time to go, Pavlović pinched the ball off the dropping Bellingham. However, the substitute atoned for his mistake, scrambling to recover the possession and drive through the midfield. He then split the lines, releasing Foden and setting off England on the transition. Foden looked left for Eze, and his teammate whipped a strike beyond Rajković. Tuchel’s men had wrapped up the three points and completed the evening’s assignment.
Takeaways
England keep marching on. They have kept seven clean sheets in their seven World Cup qualifiers under their new manager, and are one match away from having a 100% winning record in this phase of their preparation for the competition. The squad is stacked with talent and spearheaded by arguably the best striker in world football at the moment, but the true tests of Tuchel and his players will come next summer. It is all about refining relationships and retaining squad spirit until that point arrives.
Meanwhile, Serbia suffered a critical defeat as Albania edged out Andorra 1-0 on the same matchday to go four points ahead of their competitors for second spot in their qualifying group. The defeat means that Serbia cannot reach the tournament through the group and must rely on their Nations League performance for a possible playoff berth next year. Paunović might not be present for the long term, but his hope is that the country can find a way to maximize one of its stronger generations.
Use the arrows to scroll through all available match plots. Click to enlarge.
Check the match plots page for plots of other matches.
Comments