Serbia win could have huge implications for England as Thomas Tuchel discovers Plan B

Much of the talk prior to England’s game with Serbia centred around the number 10 role with Thomas Tuchel suggesting it was a straight fight between Morgan Rogers, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden.

After dismissing the notion that all three could play in the same XI, Tuchel then raised eyebrows further by starting Rogers and leaving Bellingham and Foden on the bench.

Rogers was again bright for 65 minutes but the really eye-opening moments of what was a fairly routine 2-0 win came in the final half-hour when Bellingham, Foden and Eberechi Eze were introduced.

Subs impress as England win

Real Madrid star Bellingham was a straight swap for childhood friend Rogers, Foden replaced Harry Kane as a false nine while Eze slotted in on the left in place of Marcus Rashford.

It galvanised the Three Lions and, with Serbia pushing forward in search of goals to keep their World Cup hopes alive, gave them space on the break.

Bellingham and Foden combined for Eze’s wonderful late goal and all three seemed hell-bent on making a point to Tuchel, frantically sprinting to regain possession when Serbia had it.

A lot has been written about England’s lack of an alternative to Kane at centre-forward – the likes of Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney have had opportunities but not fully convinced – but in Foden, Tuchel may have stumbled on the perfect answer.

It is a role he has performed before for Manchester City and his link-up with Eze in particular offered plenty of food for thought.

“He was excellent. You can see he is full of confidence. He showed it,” said Tuchel of Foden.

“I like to have him in the centre of the pitch in close connection with the other players. He did well. It is a big ask to challenge Harry [Kane] at the moment. He is in the shape of his life. But to be an accomplice and share some minutes, then he is an option.

“You can see he is full of confidence. You can see it in the first minutes when you meet him. You feel he is light and he is smiling. His movements are a joy to watch, you can see he is competitive.”

Starting with Bellingham would have been unfair – Tuchel

Tuchel explained Rogers’ previous displays and his knowledge of the press meant he was given the nod over Bellingham, although the smart money remains on the former Dortmund man being in the XI when the World Cup comes round in June.

“They compete at the moment for the same position and they’re still friends,” said Tuchel. “They are very respectful with each other and like each other. Morgan deserved to stay on the pitch because he had three fantastic performances and second of all we didn’t know what was coming, if our plan was right with the high press.

“It would be unfair for Jude to try to figure everything out because we changed our way of pressing in the last two camps. Declan [Rice], Morgan [Rogers] and Harry [Kane] did it already in three-four matches together.

“I figured they could adapt a bit quicker. Once we see the formation we can give clear instructions to Phil and Jude and bring them from the bench.”

Quality bench players illuminate Wembley

He added: “We had good impact from the bench straight away. We brought on quality players and they wanted to show what they could do. They created chances, half chances and scored in the end. You could see the impact and it has to stay like this.

“It is not about building a starting eleven. It is about building a team and they buy into it. Put egos behind them because it is the right thing to do for the team.”

Whether by luck or design, Tuchel now has options in the final third. The number 10 role is stacked, Eze offers genuine competition for Marcus Rashford and Anthony Gordon down the left side and he has Bellingham pulling out all the stops to earn a place in the team.

It may have been a low-key win but it could have huge implications for England as they move purposefully towards the World Cup.