England took an early lead in the 12th minute after Jude Bellingham got on the end of a deflected Buyako Saka cross.
England applied pressure but couldn’t find a second goal before halftime.
Serbia made the game harder for England in the second half, but good saves from Jordan Pickford meant Gareth Southgate’s men won the game 1-0.
Jordan Pickford – 7.5/10
The Everton goalkeeper didn’t have to do much during the first half, as the Serbian team didn’t test him. However, in the second half, England sat deeper, and Pickford made some good saves to keep the clean sheet for England.
Kieran Trippier – 6/10
Trippier had a decent game. He defended well when needed to but didn’t offer anything going forward, which England needed most in the second half.
Marc Guehi – 8/10
The Crystal Palace defender was the standout defender tonight for the Three Lions. He recovered the ball four times, made two clearances, and helped England get a well-earned clean sheet.
John Stones – 7.5/10
Stones worked hard next to Guehi and ensured Mitrovic couldn’t get any chances off, which he did well. He also won all his duels in the air, a big part of Serbia’s game, so this helped England.
Kyle Walker – 6.5/10
Walker performed well in the first half, but in the second half found it more challenging. He nearly set up a goal in the first half, but no England player could get on the end.
Declan Rice – 8/10
Rice showed again tonight why he is one of England’s key players. He was always there at the right time, which he did all season at Arsenal. Tonight, he was one of the reasons England kept their clean sheet and worked tirelessly for the ball.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 6.5/10
The Liverpool defender played as a midfielder tonight and found it challenging in the first 20 minutes. However, as the game went on, he started to get better, performed well, and nearly got a goal in the second half.
Phil Foden – 6/10
Foden had a testing night, couldn’t get into the game, and didn’t offer anything going forward. This is rare for Foden who had a brilliant season at Manchester City.
Jude Bellingham – 9/10
Bellingham was England’s man of the match. He got the opening goal in the first half and performed brilliantly. In the second half, he tried to create chances but found it challenging as England sat deeper, but the Real Madrid midfielder showed why he is the key player for England.
Bukayo Saka – 8.5/10
Saka was brilliant for England tonight. The Arsenal winger controlled the right-hand side of the pitch, taking on his man whenever he got the ball. Coming back from an injury, Saka can be encouraged going into the next couple of games.
Harry Kane – 6.5/10
Kane was good but also found it challenging, like Foden. However, the captain nearly scored in the second half, but a world-class save from Rajkovic made sure his effort didn’t go in.
Substitutions:
Conor Gallagher – 6/10
Gallagher came on to provide more stability when Serbia started taking control of the game, and he helped England see out the win and a clean sheet.
Jarrod Bowen – 6/10
Bowen only played for over 15 minutes, so he couldn’t do much when coming off the bench.
Kobbie Mainoo – 6/10
Mainoo only played a few minutes off the bench, but the younger midfielder can be pleased that he got his first minutes in Germany.
Serbia
Predrag Rajkovic – 6/10
Rajkovic was one of Serbia’s best players. He kept them in the game, making several good saves, including the one against Kane and only conceded one goal.
Milos Verjkovic – 5.5/10
Playing on the left of the back three, Verjkovic performed decently, but England’s attack was sometimes hard for the defender to cope with.
Nikola Milenkovic – 5/10
Milenkovic had a difficult game against Harry Kane, being the middleman in the back three. He lost more duels than he won, so he gets a low rating.
Strahinja Pavlovic – 7/10
Pavlovic was Serbia’s man of the match. He made 12 defensive actions, including five clearances, six recoveries and a 100% tackle rate.
Andrija Zivkovic – 6/10
Zivkovic played effectively tonight. The 27-year-old was against Foden, and he kept him quiet before coming off in the second half.
Filip Kostic – 4/10
Kostic got injured in the first half, but before coming off, the wing-back found it hard against Saka and couldn’t handle the Arsenal winger.
Nemanja Gudelj – 4/10
The 32-year-old found it hard as a midfielder against the English duo of Rice and Bellingham. He came off at halftime,
Sasa Lukic – 5/10
Lukic was playing alongside Gudelj in the midfield tonight, and like his midfielder partner, Lukic found it hard and challenging against Rice and Bellingham.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic – 7/10
Milinkovic-Savic was one of Serbia’s better players. However, he found it hard, like the rest, to get into the game and create chances.
Dusan Vlahovic – 6/10
Vlahovic, in the first half, found it difficult to get into the game; however, in the second half, he started to create chances and had the best chance for them, but Pickford made a fine stop to keep it out.
Aleksander Mitrovic – 5.5/10
Mitrovic had a great chance in the first half after a mistake by Alexander-Arnold, but the striker couldn’t convert the effort. Apart from this, the striker found it difficult against the English defence, and he couldn’t get into the game.
Substitutions:
Filip Mladenovic – 5.5/10
The defender was brought on in the first half but couldn’t get into the game. He had Saka running at him for over 45 minutes, so it was hard for Mladenovic.
Ivan IIlic – 6/10
Coming on at halftime, IIlic replaced Gudelj. The midfielder added a lot to Serbia’s game and made it harder for England.
Dusan Tadic – 5/10
Tadic was brought on for Mitrovic, and it was a good move by Dragan Stojkovic. The attacking midfielder helped increase Serbia’s attack, but he only played 30 minutes, so he couldn’t make a bigger impact.
Luka Jovic – 5/10
Jovic only played 30 minutes, so he couldn’t make a big impact. He nearly had a glorious chance, but the ball just fell away from him in the final minute.
Veljko Birmancevic - 5/10
Birmancevic had little impact on the game after being brought on in the closing stages.
