England vs Serbia: Saka goal ‘majestic’ in 2026 World Cup qualifying – but Arsenal forward and Everton keeper Pickford suffer injury scares
Bukayo Saka scored a stylish opener in England vs Serbia
Bukayo Saka’s splendid angled volley put England ahead at home to Serbia in their penultimate 2026 World Cup qualifier on Thursday – but the Arsenal livewire and Three Lions goalkeeper Jordan Pickford both appeared to be troubled by injuries during the first half at Wembley Stadium.
Saka, who missed a total of six club and international matches earlier this season with a hamstring problem, appeared to be hobbling after his strike from inside the box, struggling after Everton’s Pickford had recovered from an issue following treatment earlier in the half.
Bukayo SAKA! 🏴⚽️
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) November 13, 2025
It's a BRILLIANT finish from the Arsenal man 💥#ITVFootball | #ThreeLions | @England pic.twitter.com/T7glMUkNsH
“He’s got some sort of knock,” former Arsenal and England defender Lee Dixon told ITV Football. “It’s amazing what a goal does for the adrenaline. He’s definitely limping.”
Table of Contents
- 1 England vs Serbia: Saka goal ‘brilliant’
- 2 England starting lineup vs Serbia
- 3 Serbia starting lineup vs England
- 4 How to watch England vs Serbia: TV and online streams
- 5 Stats for England v Serbia
- 6 England squad vs Serbia
- 7 England football team World Cup qualifying fixtures
- 8 England: World Cup 2026 qualifying path
England vs Serbia: Saka goal ‘brilliant’
England have already reached the finals and were on course at half-time to continue their perfect record in the group – including an unblemished defensive record – thanks to Saka’s goal.
“There really is no end to this boy’s quality,” applauded Dixon. “This is just pure quality. The ball ricochets to him and he doesn’t rush it – he just takes it with his instep.
“It’s a brilliant finish – absolutely majestic. He just passes it into the far side netting.”
🤷♂️#ITVFootball | #ThreeLions | @England pic.twitter.com/E3aeF1668q
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) November 13, 2025
England starting lineup vs Serbia
Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly made his first England start, with Jude Bellingham on the bench and Morgan Rogers starting in midfield.
England were without goalkeeper Nick Pope, winger Anthony Gordon and centre-back Marc Guehi through injury, although the Crystal Palace captain remained with the squad.
Manchester City goalkeeper James Trafford and Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah received late call-ups.
England starting XI: Jordan Pickford, Reece James, Ezri Konsa, John Stones, Nico O’Reilly, Bukayo Saka, Elliot Anderson, Morgan Rogers, Declan Rice, Marcus Rashford, Harry Kane
England substitutes: James Trafford, Trevoh Chalobah, Jordan Henderson, Jude Bellingham, Dan Burn, Dean Henderson, Djed Spence, Adam Wharton, Phil Foden, Eberechi Eze, Jarrod Bowen, Jarell Quansah
Serbia starting lineup vs England
Serbia were without Al-Rayyan striker Aleksandar Mitrovic – the nation’s record scorer – through injury, with Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic leading the line.
Serbia starting XI: Predrag Rajkovic, Strahinja Pavlovic, Nikola Milenkovic, Aleksa Terzic, Ognjen Mimovic, Ivan Ilic, Nemanja Gudelj, Sasa Lukic, Filip Kostic, Andrija Zivkovic, Dusan Vlahovic
Serbia substitutes: Djordje Petrovic, Marko Grujic, Nemanja Radonjic, Luka Jovic, Aleksandar Katai, Veljko Ilic, Milos Veljkovic, Veljko Milosavljevic, Strahinja Erakovic, Luka Ilic, Aleksandar Stankovic, Lazar Samardzic
How to watch England vs Serbia: TV and online streams
England vs Serbia kicked off on Thursday at 19:45 GMT (14:45 ET / 11:45 PT) and can be watched on ITV1 and STV.
Fans can stream the action via ITV’s website and ITVX app, which is available on a vast variety of devices for viewing on the go.
Stats for England v Serbia
- England have won their last six matches against Serbia, including games against them when they were Yugoslavia (1986, 1987, 1989), Serbia and Montenegro (2003) and an independent nation (2024, 2025)
- England have won their last nine competitive matches and are looking to win 10 in a row for just the second time in their history – they won 10 consecutive European Championship qualifiers between September 2014 and October 2015
- Serbia have lost just three of their last 27 World Cup qualifying matches (W17 D7), though two have been in their last three, including a 5-0 hammering against England. Away from home, they are unbeaten in seven qualifiers (W5 D2)
England squad vs Serbia
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), James Trafford (Manchester City)
Defenders: Dan Burn (Newcastle), Trevoh Chalobah (Chelsea), Reece James (Chelsea), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Nico O’Reilly (Man City), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Tottenham), John Stones (Man City)
Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Villa), Alex Scott (Bournemouth), Adam Wharton (Palace)
Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Phil Foden (Man City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona, loan from Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
England football team World Cup qualifying fixtures
Friday, March 21: England 2-0 Albania
Monday, March 24: England 3-0 Latvia
Saturday, June 7: Andorra 0-1 England
Saturday, September 6: England 2-0 Andorra
Tuesday, September 9: Serbia 0-5 England
Tuesday, October 14: Latvia 0-5 England
Thursday, November 13: England vs Serbia (19:45 GMT)
Sunday, November 16: Albania vs England (17:00)
England: World Cup 2026 qualifying path
The top team from each of the 12 European Qualifier groups proceeds automatically to the finals, which will be expanded to 48 teams.
The 12 runners-up in each group will join four Nations League teams in the play-offs, which will be drawn from pots based on teams’ records during the campaign. The games will comprise single-leg semi-finals and finals.
The draw for the World Cup finals will take place in December 2025. The tournament runs from June 11 until July 19 2026.