Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 9, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleEngland defeated Serbia 5-0 in a World Cup qualifier, maintaining a perfect record in Group K. Harry Kane led the charge, and Serbia's Milenkovic was sent off.
BELGRADE (Reuters) -England took a huge step towards automatic qualification for the World Cup with captain Harry Kane paving the way for a crushing 5-0 victory away to main Group K rivals Serbia on Tuesday.
Criticised for a laboured home win over Andorra at the weekend, England produced their best display under Thomas Tuchel to take full advantage of a timid Serbia display and maintain their 100% record in the group without conceding a goal.
Kane headed England's opener from Declan Rice's corner in the 33rd minute and minutes later Noni Madueke scored his first senior international goal to double the lead.
Seven minutes after the break it was Ezri Konsa's turn to open his England account and put the visitors in cruise control with a close-range finish.
Serbia's night went from bad to worse when Nikola Milenkovic was sent off in the 73rd minute for a foul on Kane and from Rice's resulting free kick Marc Guehi arrived to make it 4-0.
Substitute Marcus Rashford rounded it off with a late penalty after a foul on Ollie Watkins as England moved to 15 points from five games and a seven-point lead over Albania.
Serbia's first defeat in the group leaves them third on seven points with a game in hand.
The group winners qualify for next year's finals with the runners-up going into the playoffs.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)
England defeated Serbia 5-0 in a decisive match.
Harry Kane scored the opening goal for England from a corner in the 33rd minute.
Nikola Milenkovic was sent off in the 73rd minute, which allowed England to capitalize and score a fourth goal from a free kick.
After the match, England has 15 points from five games.
Serbia's loss leaves them in third place with seven points, despite having a game in hand.
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