By Olaitan Ibrahim
England delivered a commanding performance in Belgrade, dismantling Serbia 5-0 in their World Cup qualifying clash on Tuesday night.
Thomas Tuchel’s men combined precision, power, and patience to silence the Rajko Mitić Stadium, with Harry Kane, Noni Madueke, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi, and Marcus Rashford all on the scoresheet. The visitors struck early through their captain. In the 33rd minute, Declan Rice whipped in a pinpoint corner that found Kane, whose powerful header ricocheted off the post before nestling into the net.
Just two minutes later, England doubled their lead as Morgan Rogers slipped a clever ball to Madueke, who produced an audacious lob over goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.
Serbia struggled to contain England’s tempo and physicality, though Petrovic prevented further damage before half-time with smart saves from Anthony Gordon and Declan Rice.
The hosts’ frustrations boiled over, with Sasa Lukic booked for a rash challenge and tempers flaring in midfield. England resumed after the interval with the same intensity. Ezri Konsa made it 3-0 in the 52nd minute, tapping home after Petrovic parried Gordon’s low drive. VAR briefly delayed celebrations, but the goal stood after review. The contest turned ugly for Serbia in the 72nd minute when Nikola Milenkovic was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge. From the resulting free-kick, Rice delivered another dangerous ball that Guehi swept into the net to make it 4–0.
Tuchel rang the changes, introducing Rashford, Ollie Watkins, and Jarrod Bowen, and it was Rashford who completed the rout in stoppage time. After VAR awarded England a late penalty, Rashford coolly dispatched his spot-kick into the bottom corner to seal a comprehensive victory.
Serbia, who managed only fleeting attacks through Dusan Vlahovic and Filip Kostic, were outclassed in every department.
England’s dominance was reflected not only in the scoreline but also in their game management, recycling possession intelligently and pressing aggressively to snuff out danger. In a related and even more assertive performance, Erling Haaland’s Norwegian team delivered a devastating attacking performance on Tuesday night, crushing Moldova 11–1 in a World Cup qualifying match in Oslo.
Erling Haaland scored five times, while Andreas Schjelderup Aasgaard struck a hat-trick in what became one of the most dominant victories in Norway’s football history. The hosts set the tone within six minutes as Filip Myhre opened the scoring from Haaland’s assist.
Moments later, Haaland got his first of the night after combining with Myhre, before completing a rapid-fire hat-trick with two more goals supplied by captain Martin Ødegaard. Ødegaard himself then added the fifth on the stroke of half-time to put Norway firmly in control at 5–0.
After the restart, Haaland showed no mercy, netting his fourth in the 52nd minute with help from David Møller Wolfe. Moldova briefly celebrated when Leo Østigård accidentally diverted the ball into his own net in the 74th minute, but the damage was already overwhelming. Aasgaard took centre stage late on, scoring in the 67th, 76th and 79th minutes-the last from the penalty spot — to secure his hat-trick. Haaland then grabbed his fifth of the game in the 83rd minute after a pass from Julian Ryerson, before Aasgaard capped the night with his fourth goal in stoppage time.
The emphatic 11–1 scoreline leaves Norway in a commanding position in their qualifying group, while Haaland’s five-goal masterclass underlined his status as the world’s most prolific striker. For coach Ståle Solbakken, it was a statement performance that sent shockwaves across Europe as Norway continue their push toward the 2026 World Cup finals.