Bukayo Saka says he is “not sure” whether his volley against Serbia was his best England goal – and the Arsenal forward has dismissed a suggestion he was injured during the game.
Saka, who missed six club and international matches earlier this season because of a hamstring injury, appeared to ask to come off after putting England ahead in the 28th miunute of the 2-0 win in 2026 World Cup qualifying.
“I just wanted to change my boots – that was it,” Saka told ITV Football. “It’s a performance we can be proud of. It was a clean strike. I was happy it went in.”
Bukayo SAKA! 🏴⚽️
It’s a BRILLIANT finish from the Arsenal man 💥#ITVFootball | #ThreeLions | @England pic.twitter.com/T7glMUkNsH
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) November 13, 2025
England vs Serbia: Eze praises ‘talent’
One of Saka’s Premier League teammates, Eberechi Eze, curled in the second goal in the 90th minute as England stayed perfect ahead of their final qualifier in Albania on Sunday.
“You know these types of players who are always going to put the ball in the right position for you,” Eze said of Phil Foden’s assist for him.
“I just saw the opportunity and it went in. There are a lot of talented [forwards] who are [in the squad] and aren’t here.
“It’s the type of competition that you want to be around and it’s going to help the team, for sure.”
The Three Lions had already qualified for the finals in the US, Canada and Mexico and have won all seven matches in the campaign without conceding.
Eberechi Eze scores again for England! ⚽️⚽️🏴
What a strike. Job done for the Three Lions 🦁#ITVFootball | #ThreeLions pic.twitter.com/hhtES5vCho
— 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
England squad vs Serbia and Albania
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 2-0 Serbia
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.
