Tuchel 'more than happy' for England players

England head coach Thomas Tuchel was all smiles after the Three Lions put in a five-star performance against Serbia.

Tuchel, whose side sign off the September international window with two wins in as many fixtures in their 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifying campaign, was delighted with what he saw on display in Belgrade, watching on from the dugout.

And he reiterated just how pleased he was to see his players’ efforts on the training ground reflected in the game.

“I’m more than happy for the team,” said Tuchel. “We had an excellent week from start to finish in which they proved what I see every day in this camp, and that makes me very happy.”

With five different goalscorers rippling the net against Serbia, it was a team effort, according to Tuchel, who was buoyed by England’s showing across the whole of the pitch.

“We played with a lot of intensity,” he reflected. “We put a lot of work in. There was teamwork in its purest form, and from there, we showed our quality.

“We kept Serbia to no shots on target. We didn't allow chances, and you have to put a lot of work in to do that.

“A lot of help is needed, a lot of intensity is needed in the duels, and a lot of invisible work [is needed] that you get no praise for. We did this with a lot of support from all positions, a lot of running and a lot of effort. It was good to watch.”

And Tuchel – who now has five wins in six games at the helm – highlighted the need for the team to gel, in just his third camp in charge of the Three Lions, but insisted the standard is set.

“Every game is different,” explained Tuchel. “I said, we had a meeting in the beginning, and we had our learnings in the first two camps.

“We have only had three weeks of training together – three weeks of training is normally half a pre-season. It takes a bit of time and in between these three weeks, is weeks of a pause.

“We started new, we started fresh after the first two camps. The first camp was very good, the second camp was so-so.

“We did our learnings and started new, gave the players clarity about their roles in the structure that we are playing. And from this, we gave them the responsibility to bring it to life, and they did excellent, so the credit goes to them.

“They did amazing. That's the bar.”