FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifying Preview for Serbia vs England: Analysis, Past Record, Key Players
In a closely contested World Cup qualifier, England emerged victorious against Serbia with a score of 2-0 at Villa Park. The win extends England's impressive streak, making it five consecutive victories against Serbia, Montenegro, and Yugoslavia, with an aggregate score of 11-3.
England's strikers Vlahovic and Aleksandar Mitrovic have been contributing to their side's offensive efforts in the qualifiers, scoring four goals between them. Vlahovic has netted one goal, while Mitrovic has found the back of the net three times. However, Serbia have struggled to convert their chances, managing 48 shots in their four qualifying matches but underperforming their expected goals (xG) by 0.7.
On the other hand, England's attacking prowess has been evident, with an average xG against figure of 0.8, which is the second-best among teams that have played more than one qualifier so far in this cycle. England also boast the fourth-highest expected goals (xG) of any European team, at 11.0.
England's midfielder Declan Rice has been instrumental in their recent success, having a hand in seven goals in his last 12 appearances for England (three goals, four assists). Noni Madueke, who made his debut in the match, played a significant role in England's opening goal, providing the cross from which Garcia headed in. Madueke finished the match with a game-leading three chances created.
Defensively, England have been exceptional, having not conceded in any of their last six competitive fixtures. They are also leading the way in clean sheets, with no team averaging more possession or keeping as many clean sheets as England in this qualifying cycle. Elliot Anderson, in his debut match, impressively completed 107 of his 114 passes.
Serbia have shown resilience, losing just one of their last 24 World Cup qualifiers and managing to keep a third consecutive clean sheet in a World Cup qualifier, the longest run of games without conceding a goal in the competition since at least 2010. Their recent results include draws with Albania and beating Andorra, before edging past Latvia away from home 1-0 on Saturday.
According to the Opta supercomputer, England are the favourites to win against Serbia in their upcoming match. The victory against Serbia could potentially see England tie their longest ever run of clean sheets in such games, previously keeping seven in a row between October 1988 and October 1989.
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