Key events
54 min “Is Foden at risk of becoming one of those players who is great for their clubs but never really performs for England?” wonders David Wall. “He’s had more that 30 games now but I don’t really remember a performance where he’s been the dominant player, or even been that decisive (perhaps in the World Cup against Wales but that seemed more about Rashford). It’s a high-quality list, with the likes of Barnes, McManaman, Fowler, Cole, perhaps Hoddle too, so he’d be in good company.”
He’s got plenty of time, but it’s much harder to play him in the middle when the team doesn’t keep the ball like Man City do – and when you’ve also got Bellingham.
53 min Vlahovic isolates Guehi and diddles him down the outside, crossing low; Walker, sliding in, gets a flicks on it, and it’s enough to make sure the ball finds a white shirt, Trippier getting it away.
52 min England, by the way, were very strong down their right side, Saka giving Pavlovic a thorough going-over, but with Foden rarely out wide, Serbia have decent handle on how they need to defend.
51 min Alexander-Arnold tries a Zidane roulette, losing out to Lukic, but he can’t finds a mate; no matter, Serbia again begin passing, and they’re finding some rhythm now they’re not just letting England play.
50 min England try passing out but end up going back to Pickford, who wellies at Kane. He can’t control, but his team recover possession and begin probing once more.
49 min Between them, Rice and Guehi abort Zivkovic’s run into the box and England clear, but Serbia have started the half the better.
47 min “Kane, touching the ball…” Not words we’ve heard often tonight, and I wonder if he’s being hurt by england’s lack of a prompting midfielder able to get him the ball to feet early doors.
46 min Change for Serbia, Ilic replacing Gudelj.
46 min We go again.
Joe Hart, by the way, is showing signs of being a decent pundit. This is only the second time he’s been to a game in which he’s not been playing, believe it or not.
“Where’s Foden?” wonders Francis Mead. “All pretty good – though we shouldn’t take our foot off the pedal. The only frustration: where is Foden? He hasn’t offered anything at all.”
I know what you mean, but the mere threat of him is a problem for Serbia, because his pace, directness and intelligence mean they need to watch him carefully and he’s wandering all over.
We keep referencing Bryan Robson, so here’s some reading on him – 42 years to the day since he scored what was then the fastest-ever World Cup goal.
Half-time email: “Sergej Milinković-Savić hasn’t resembled the midfield dynamo who played for Lazio,” reckons Kári Tulinius. “I thought a season in Saudi Arabia wouldn’t do him much harm, but he isn’t anything like the ‘new Bryan Robson’ that he was once heralded as.”
Ah, he’s definitely not that – he’s actually one of those who’s been poor more or less every time I’ve seen him play. But he does have ability and Serbia are struggling to get him on the ball in dangerous areas, with time and space. He’s not so good when it’s fast and tight.
That’s the most controlled England have been in a while. I’d still like them to create more – I’m not sure the balance in midfield or attack is quite right – but they’ve something to build on.
HALF-TIME: Serbia 0-1 England
For half an hour, England were excellent, though encouraged to be by a very reactive Serbia. Since the goal, though, it’s been more even and this match isn’t yet over – not by a long chalk.
45+3 min Mladenovic goes to the near post and who’s there? Jude Bellingham is there, of course he is, and that’ll be half-time.
45+2 min Lukic spreads to Zivkovic and follows his pass, racing over to the right to accept a return. And his cross is excellent, Stones forced to get rid of it at an awkward height, a man behind him. He’s relieved to see it dribble behind for a corner, but Serbia will be happy to take one.
45 min We’ll have two additional minutes, England dropping off and daring Serbia to try something; Lukic tries a dink over the top, but Vlahovic is nowhere near it.
45 min A quiet period. From here, both sides will probably take 0-1 at the break.
43 min Yup, change for Serbia: Mladenovic replaces Kostic.
42 min Kostic is hurt and I don’t think he’ll be able to carry on. He accepts treatment, but on the bench, a sub gets stripped.
40 min “Time to bring Phil Neville on?” wonders Tom Atkins. “The old muscle memory’s kicked in and I’m now convinced that, after a strong start and a well worked goal, England are going to bring on a workhorse defensive midfielder, start panicking and spend the next 75 minutes punting it long.”
Now that is a 90s revival we can all get behind behind which we can all get. I’d also think about using Geoff Thomas against the better teams.
38 min Rice cuts out a cross, moves forward, finds Foden, and when the ball goes inside to Bellingham, a lovely turn sees him away. Those dominant performances I asked for? Yeah, this is one, and when Gudelj clatters him, ball pretty much overrun, the ref flourishes the yellow card.
37 min Bellingham wins the ball in centrefield and Saka has a run on Pavlovic, who doesn’t have anything. A lollipop inside, a duck outside, and he’s away, the defender spread across absolute toast, and the low cross is good, but zips just behind Kane.
35 min Yup, Serbia’s sitting off was just while the game was level. They’ll have to be careful because England are useful on the counter, but getting on the ball looks a much better approach than sitting deep and hoping not to concede.
33 min Bit of Serbia possession, Mitrovic dropping deep to find Zivkovic, whose right-wing cross is a goodun … but Guehi is up really well to head clear. That, though, is what Serbia are looking to do, and England will want to stop them before it gets to that point.
32 min England are back controlling it now, but Serbia are no longer looking solely to contain.
