The Numbers Game: Can Bellingham and Foden shine on return to England fold?

England are playing their final two World Cup qualifiers this week, with Serbia and Albania their opponents as Thomas Tuchel gets another chance to fine-tune his squad.

With the Three Lions already qualified for next year's tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico, these will be the final two competitive fixtures that England will participate in before trying to end their 60-year wait for glory.

Wembley Stadium will be the venue for their penultimate game in Group K, with plenty for Tuchel to watch over as FIFA's flagship tournament draws ever closer. 

There are returns for Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden to the national team this while around, while Alex Scott has been rewarded for his performances at Bournemouth with a first senior call-up. 

Serbia, meanwhile, know a victory is a must to keep their hopes of qualifying for next summer's World Cup alive, and will be out to avenge their 5-0 defeat in Belgrade back in September. 

And with the help of Opta data, we delve into the pre-match statistics to see who will come out on top on Thursday.

What's expected?

England have stormed through Group K, scoring 18 goals in six matches while also failing to concede, and their perfect run is expected to continue heading into their final qualifying match against Albania. 

The Three Lions won 70.2% of the Opta supercomputer's 10,000 data-led simulations, compared to Serbia's 12.9%. The probability of the spoils being shared is 16.8%.

And that will be down to not only England's dominance in this fixture, but also their impressive start to life under Tuchel since he replaced Gareth Southgate back in January. 

Indeed, England have won their last nine competitive matches and are looking to win 10 in a row for just the second time in their history – they won 10 consecutive European Championship qualifiers between September 2014 and October 2015.

England have also won their last six matches against Serbia, encompassing games against them when they were Yugoslavia (1986, 1987, 1989), Serbia and Montenegro (2003) and an independent nation (2024, 2025).

Serbia, meanwhile, have never won an away match in England (D3 L5), with this their first trip there as an independent nation. Their last away game was in June 2003, as Serbia and Montenegro, losing 2-1 at the King Power Stadium under Dejan Savicevic.

Can Bellingham and Foden stand out in England's seemingly settled squad?

Since taking the reins with the Three Lions, Tuchel's squad selection has raised some eyebrows, but that has not had an effect on England's recent performances. 

Nottingham Forest's Elliot Anderson, Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers and Chelsea's Noni Madueke have all played their part in England's strong qualifying run, though Tuchel will be using these matches to tinker with his squad and see all the options available to him. 

Perhaps England's most imperious showing since Tuchel's arrival came in the reverse fixture with Serbia, as they recorded a 5-0 triumph at Stadion Rajko Mitic that saw five different players get on the scoresheet.

Since that win in Belgrade, the Three Lions have put together impressive back-to-back wins, beating rivals Wales 3-0 in a friendly before Harry Kane scored twice in a 5-0 win over Latvia, a result that saw England become the first European team to qualify for the World Cup.

England kept eight consecutive clean sheets in competitive internationals, their longest-ever run of competitive clean sheets, winning all eight of those games.

Only one European nation has ever won more consecutive competitive matches without conceding, with Spain winning 10 in a row between October 2014 and June 2016.

The Three Lions also rank first in UEFA World Cup qualifying for successful passes (4,061), average possession (75.8%), passes per sequence (6.4), average sequence time (17.8 seconds) and open play sequences with 10 or more passes (172).

And that feeling of not wanting to disrupt a seemingly settled squad has been somewhat interrupted this time around due to injuries to key players, though Tuchel has plenty of quality in reserve to call upon, most notably Foden and Bellingham.

Manchester City's Foden had not been picked in Tuchel's last three squads, with his last appearance for his country coming against Latvia back in March. 

The 25-year-old has rediscovered the form that he showed in 2023-24, scoring four goals and registering three assists in 14 appearances in all competitions this season. 

Bellingham, meanwhile, returns after contentiously missing out on the October squad, even if his recovery from a shoulder injury was cited as one of the reasons for his absence. 

He has registered four goal involvements (three goals, one assist) in 11 outings in all competitions for Real Madrid, including a goal and an assist in Los Blancos' Clasico win over Barcelona. 

The pair add significant firepower to England's already red-hot forward line, with only Austria (19), Croatia (20), Belgium (21), Netherlands (22) and Norway (29) scoring more goals than the Three Lions in the UEFA section of qualifying for the World Cup.

Both are likely to feature in Tuchel's final World Cup squad next year, but the German has shown that if players are underperforming, he is not afraid to leave them out, no matter what they have done for England in the past. 

Serbia aiming to keep World Cup hopes alive

Having been put to the sword by England in September, Serbia have regained momentum in their quest for the World Cup after downing Andorra 3-1 in their last qualifying match.

Dragan Stojkovic's team are, however, third in Group K and a point behind Albania, whom they lost to in the last international break, with just two games remaining. 

They know that defeat to the Three Lions and a win for Albania over Andorra will see them fail to qualify for FIFA's flagship tournament for the first time since Brazil in 2014. 

Serbia have lost just three of their last 27 World Cup qualifying matches (W17 D7), though two have been in their last three (W1), including their hammering against England.

Away from home, they are unbeaten in seven qualifiers (W5 D2), but face a tough ask at Wembley, though they will be hopeful Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic can have a say. 

Vlahovic has scored three goals in 11 Serie A outings for Juventus, and in qualifying, he has netted two of Serbia's seven goals, a total only bettered by Aleksandar Mitrovic (four). 

Serbia close their campaign at home to Latvia this Sunday, and will be hoping to enter that game with the possibility of still reaching the United States, Canada and Mexico. 

PLAYERS TO WATCH

England – Harry Kane

Kane has been in sensational form for Bayern Munich this season, registering 30 goal involvements in all competitions, more than any other player in Europe's top five leagues.

He has also netted six goals in qualifying, with the England captain's tally a total only bettered by the Netherlands' Memphis Depay (seven) and Norway's Erling Haaland (12).

The 32-year-old's brace against Latvia last time out saw him score more than one goal in a match for the 13th time, surpassing Nat Lofthouse (12) and setting a new England record in the process. Kane will, however, be happy to return to the capital.

That is because Kane is England's all-time leading scorer at Wembley, with 30 goals in 38 appearances, scoring in each of his last four at the national stadium, though he has never scored in five in a row.

Only Bobby Charlton (1958-59), Peter Crouch (2009-10) and Wayne Rooney (six in a row, 2014-15) have scored in five consecutive games at Wembley.

Serbia – Aleksandar Mitrovic

A man familiar to many of England's defenders will be Serbia captain Mitrovic, who has netted 19 goals in 25 World Cup qualifiers for his nation.

But more importantly for the former Fulham forward, his next appearance, which could come at Wembley on Thursday, will see him make history for Serbia.

It will put him joint-second on the all-time cap holders for Serbia (including games as Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro), level with Branislav Ivanovic and behind only Dusan Tadic (111).