Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the 2026 World Cup qualifying match.
England’s perfect run in the World Cup 2026 qualification earned them a place at the final tournament even before the November international break. Serbia, however, are on the verge of failure — a 0:1 defeat to Albania left the visitors outside the top two in the group, so they risk missing out on the play-offs.
England
Perhaps England have shown the most coherent and cohesive football among all contenders in the qualifying round of the World Cup 2026 qualification. In six matches, the team scored 18 goals without conceding. A month ago, the hosts tested their squad in a friendly against Wales (3:0) and an away qualifier against Latvia (5:0) — this gave minutes to Elliot Anderson, Ezri Konsa, Djed Spence, Ethan Lewis-Skelly, and Eberechi Eze.
Serbia
A poor run left Serbia with no choice — after the debacle against Albania, Dragan Stojković was dismissed. With Veljko Paunović at the helm, the away side are unlikely to abandon their defensive setup — it is more comfortable to deploy their best combination with a 3-4-1-2. They are still likely to have issues with cohesion between Dušan Vlahović and Aleksandar Mitrović — the duo scored six goals between them in the World Cup 2026 qualification, but five of those came against Andorra (3:0 and 3:1).
England vs Serbia Prediction
In September, England earned a confident 5:0 victory over Serbia in Belgrade, allowing only 0.08 xGA. We expect the Both Teams to Score – No bet to land again at Wembley Stadium on Thursday.
