England have taken a giant step towards confirming a place next summer’s World Cup after a surprise result in qualification.
Harry Kane, Noni Madueke, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi and Marcus Rashford were all on target amid a hostile atmosphere in Belgrade as England made it five wins from five in qualification.
Thomas Tuchel’s side have scored 13 goals and conceded none so far and now hold a four-point advantage over Albania who have emerged as their closest challengers in the group.
Serbia are four points further back after losing at home to Albania on Saturday which means there is plenty of work and luck needed for Dragan Stojkovic’s side to seal a top two finish never mind qualify automatically.
That said, England still aren’t assured of a place at the 2026 World Cup despite taking maximum points from their opening five games. However, with three qualifiers remaining Tuchel’s side are on the verge of joining the likes of Argentina, Brazil, Japan and host nations, USA, Mexico and Canada at next summer’s tournament.
When can England qualify for World Cup 2026?
Serbia’s failure to win means if England pick up all three points in Riga then qualification will be secured.
A point for England would delay the inevitable qualification party by at least a month, though if Serbia don’t beat Andorra on Tuesday then their already slim hopes of topping the group would be over.
Albania, who host the Three Lions in the final qualifier next month, have played a game more than their two rivals but are in a good position to seal a play-off spot at the very least.
England are ultimately in control of their own destiny as one win from their remaining three fixtures gets the job done.
