Panic over - England CAN win the World Cup under Thomas Tuchel: Winners and losers after Three Lions find their swagger in Serbia to give hope for a successful summer

Tuchel not only needed to win, he needed a big performance to quieten the volume of dissent against him after four lacklustre victories and a concerning defeat to Senegal in his games in charge thus far. He got both, with England delivering their biggest away win since crushing San Marino 10-0 in 2021 while showing they can play free-flowing football as well as make the most of set-pieces.

There were many things to be pleased about from the coach's point of view. His side barely let Serbia create any danger, with Jordan Pickford not asked to make any saves all night. They dominated the ball and territory but were seldom ponderous, playing in a direct manner throughout.

Tuchel also showed his flexibility, dropping players who had underperformed against Andorra such as Marcus Rashford and Myles Lewis-Skelly while rewarding Elliot Anderson with a second consecutive start. It was not exactly the spell-binding performance Spain had produced against Turkey a couple of days earlier, but it was an imposing display and a big stride in the right direction.

Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic was roundly booed when his name was read out before kick-off, and the crowd's feeling towards him became ever more vociferous as his side were played off their own park. All the talk before about England being intimidated amid the noise and during the walk through the 73-metre, graffiti-soaked tunnel faded into nothing, and if anyone faced hostilities, it was the home side and their manager.

Stojkovic was one of the best players of his generation but his star has faded as a coach and he is growing ever unpopular, despite leading Serbia to back-to-back major tournaments. Making it three out of three will be much harder after this bruising defeat, as they will almost certainly have to look to the play-offs to book their place in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

There is another reason why Stojkovic is unpopular right now, too. He is a fervent supporter of the Serbian government, which has faced waves of protests in the last few weeks, and if his side cannot beat Albania in their next game and reclaim second spot in the group, his own regime might be about to topple.

Madueke had been among the players Tuchel had named and shamed for not taking their chances against Andorra, but he showed the mental resilience you need at international level on Tuesday. The forward has many critics, as was made clear by the furious reaction among Arsenal fans when he signed for the Gunners, and when he kept his place in the starting line-up for this one ahead of Jarrod Bowen, more groans were let out online.

But Madueke offered the perfect response. The game was barely a few minutes old when he latched on to a pass from Morgan Rogers and nearly won a penalty. He later rolled the ball across the six-yard box for Harry Kane, who somehow missed the target, while when he got a chance of his own, he made sure he didn't waste it. 

Madueke demonstrated his renowned pace and determination as he sprinted into the box after Rogers' flick-on, but he also showed an ice-cool mentality in front of goal which has been previously lacking.  With his club team-mate Bukayo Saka potentially still injured for the next round of England games against Wales and Albania, Madueke has given himself the best hope possible of keeping his place.

Declan Rice already has his name on a seat on the plane to North America next summer, so he could feel entitled to rest on his laurels and coast a little bit through these qualifiers. He did no such thing on Tuesday, however, leading by example with a truly dominant performance.

Rice's two assists, for Kane and Marc Guehi, added to his goal against Andorra and meant he had directly contributed to three of England's seven strikes during this camp. Tuchel had spoken of the importance of long balls and long throws before the game and it felt obvious that he had Arsenal in mind.

Rice's pin-point deliveries have been a key element of the Gunners' growing threat from set plays (no Premier League team has scored more than them in the last two years) and it makes perfect sense for Tuchel to want to replicate that weapon, with the midfielder as his supplier-in-chief.

It must have been a difficult last 24 hours for Morgan Gibbs-White. He will have woken up to the news that Nottingham Forest had sacked manager Nuno Espirito Santo before he was then forced to watch on as Morgan Rogers, the main competition for his place in the World Cup squad, shone in a sublime team performance.

To make matters worse, Gibbs-White didn't get even get off the bench as Tuchel overlooked him despite using all five of his substitutes. The Forest midfielder only got 12 minutes of action against Andorra to show the coach what he is made of during this camp, and Rogers has seemingly solidified his place ahead of Gibbs White in the No.10s' pecking order.

With Cole Palmer and Judge Bellingham to return from injury, there is a strong possibility that Gibbs-White will not be selected at all for England's next camp in October. All the more motivation, then, to impress his new club boss Ange Postecoglou.

Guehi was described as being "extremely unhappy" to miss out on a move to Liverpool on transfer deadline day, and who can blame him? While he maintained a professional attitude throughout the transfer saga and kept playing for Crystal Palace right up until the deadline as talks progressed, Alexander Isak and Yoane Wissa went on strike and eventually got what they wanted while the Eagles' captain wasn't rewarded for his loyalty.

Many players would be hugely impacted by such a disappointment, but Guehi simply carried on as usual and performed at his very best in Belgrade, defending with authority and contributing to two of the five goals. 

Tuchel had said last week that the defender was handling the setback "with respect and with grace and with a brilliant attitude", and he praised him again after his display against Serbia, remarking: "It’s exactly how the boys were in this camp – they put their personal interest aside. He was the best team-mate possible."