Sports
England cruise against Serbia with Bellingham reduced to cameo role | The Express Tribune
Saka and Eze help the Three Lions maintain their unbeaten record in the 2-0 victory
LONDON:
Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze maintained England’s flawless record on the road to the World Cup but Jude Bellingham was reduced to a cameo role in Thursday’s 2-0 win against Serbia.
Saka struck in the first half at Wembley before his Arsenal team-mate Eze netted in the closing stages to ensure England, who had already qualified for the World Cup, made it seven successive Group K victories without conceding a goal.
After scoring 13 times in their previous three matches, this was a more prosaic England display, with Thomas Tuchel’s decision to leave Bellingham out of his starting line-up capturing most of the attention.
Tuchel opted to select Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers instead of Bellingham before sending on the Real Madrid star with 26 minutes left.
Bellingham had missed England’s previous four matches, with a shoulder injury sidelining him in September before Tuchel left him out in October.
Rogers excelled in the number 10 role while deputising for Bellingham during England’s wins over Wales and Latvia in October.
And Tuchel this week warned Bellingham that he would have to fight for his place in the starting line-up at the World Cup.
There have been reports that Bellingham has sometimes been a polarising figure among the England squad and Tuchel was forced to apologise to the 22-year-old earlier this season after revealing his mother found the fiery star’s on-pitch behaviour “repulsive”.
After England travel to Albania for their last qualifier on Sunday, Tuchel has only two friendlies remaining in March before he has to name his World Cup squad.
The German’s handling of Bellingham will likely be the main topic from now until the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico next year.
“Morgan deserved to stay on the pitch because he had three fantastic performances with him, and second of all we didn’t know if our plan was right with the high press,” Tuchel said.
“It would be unfair for Jude to try figure everything out because we changed our way of pressing in the last two camps.
“Once we see the formation we can give clear instructions to Phil and Jude and bring them from the bench.
“The game got a little too open. It is good if everything is not as easy, so we had to wait very long until the decisive goal.”
England’s 5-0 win in Serbia in September was the first sign that Tuchel was starting to stamp his mark on the team after a slow start to his reign.
Saka sparkles
England have been revitalised since that impressive victory, securing their World Cup berth by crushing Latvia in October.
Tuchel has now won eight of his nine matches, including seven World Cup qualifiers without conceding a single goal.
Tuchel had urged Saka to score more often for England after a meagre run in front of goal and the Arsenal forward responded in the 28th minute.
Serbia keeper Predrag Rajkovic punched Declan Rice’s free-kick to Nico O’Reilly and when his shot was blocked towards Saka, the 24-year-old guided a composed volley into the far corner from an acute angle.
Saka’s 14th goal in 47 England appearances gave his side a lift and O’Reilly’s deflected cross smacked the post before Harry Kane headed wide from close range.
Rogers nearly doubled the lead with a flicked header that flashed wide just before half-time.
Dusan Vlahovic should have punished England for their profligacy, but the striker back-heeled wide from close range after the interval.
As well as introducing Bellingham, Tuchel sent on Phil Foden — who had been absent from the previous three squads — to play as England’s central striker in place of Kane.
Bellingham and Foden combined with fellow substitute Eze to wrap up England’s win in the 90th minute.
Bellingham found Foden and the Manchester City playmaker teed up Eze for a superb finish into the top corner from the edge of the area.
Sports
TreVeyon Henderson helps power Patriots to best record in NFL after win over Jets
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson has made the most of his opportunity, filling in for injured starter Rhamondre Stevenson, who has missed the past three games because of a toe injury. Henderson’s two touchdown runs and one receiving touchdown helped the Patriots to a 27-14 victory over the New York Jets on Thursday night, sparking a question on whether he might assume a larger role when Stevenson returns.
The Patriots improved to 9-2 with the win, the best record in the NFL, and won their eighth in a row.
Henderson became the second rookie in Patriots history to have multiple rushing touchdowns in consecutive games, joining Curtis Martin, who had a three-game streak and two-game streak in 1995.
Henderson also became the first rookie in Patriots history with five touchdowns in a two-game span. He is the third rookie in Patriots history with three touchdowns in a game (including playoffs), joining tight end Rob Gronkowski (2010) and running back Sony Michel (2018).
Henderson, the 38th pick out of Ohio State, has seen his playing time more than double during the past three weeks with Stevenson out. Henderson played 51 snaps in each of the two games leading up to Thursday night, and, once again, he played a majority of the snaps in the win over the Jets.
Here are the most important things to know from Thursday night for both teams:

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What to make of the QB performance: Drake Maye settled into a rhythm early, completing his first 11 passes, the longest streak to start a game in his career. Maye, who was in complete command, was effective against the blitz, finishing the first half 5-of-5 for 41 yards and 3 first downs. Maye entered the game completing 69.1% of his passes against the blitz, ranking third in the NFL. He finished the game 25-of-34 for 281 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked only once.
Trend to watch: The Patriots’ defense gave up an opening-drive touchdown for the sixth time this season, tying for the most in the NFL. In practice, coach Mike Vrabel has had assistant coach Ben McAdoo put together an offensive script as if he were the opposing offensive coordinator, attempting to prepare the defense for opening drives in games. But the defense isn’t consistently producing the desired results.
Stat to know: The last time the Patriots won eight games in a row was 2019, when they opened the season 8-0. — Mike Reiss
Next game: at Cincinnati Bengals (1 p.m. ET, Nov. 23)
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With a war chest of premium draft picks from blockbuster trades ahead of last week’s deadline, the Jets can find their quarterback of the future in 2026 or 2027. Or so they hope. In the meantime, they must endure seven more games of Justin Fields. Or Tyrod Taylor.
Does it matter?
Coach Aaron Glenn’s quarterback games, where he refuses each week to name his starter until game day, can’t camouflage the obvious: Week after week, the Jets’ passing attack is noncompetitive.
Playing without wide receiver Garrett Wilson, who was placed on injured reserve Thursday because of a knee injury, Fields passed for only 116 yards on 15-for-26 efficiency. He avoided his fifth game with fewer than 100 passing yards thanks to late completions in garbage time. You can’t win in the NFL with only three pass completions longer than 9 air yards, and the Patriots softened their coverage late in the game.
The Jets looked great on their opening possession, a run-heavy drive that covered 72 yards for a touchdown, but they hit a prolonged cold spell once the Patriots adjusted. The Jets needed Fields to produce via the air, and he didn’t, except for a 22-yard touchdown to John Metchie III late in the third quarter.
Now, Glenn has a QB decision: Is it time to bench Fields?
Trend to watch: It was a rough debut for wide receiver Adonai Mitchell. Acquired from the Indianapolis Colts in the Sauce Gardner trade, Mitchell dropped two passes. He had a step on Christian Gonzalez on a well-thrown deep ball but couldn’t hold on. The Jets’ passing attack isn’t good enough to overcome killer mistakes. Nevertheless, you will see a lot of Mitchell for the remainder of the season.
Biggest hole in the game plan: The Jets blitzed less than usual, putting a lot of pressure on the patchwork secondary. It wasn’t pretty, as Maye passed for 284 yards and a touchdown. The Jets miss Gardner. His replacement, rookie Azareye’h Thomas (concussion), didn’t play, forcing third-stringer Qwan’tez Stiggers into the lineup. Brandon Stephens (costly penalty, one TD allowed) and Jarvis Brownlee Jr. (three penalties) both had rough nights.
Most surprising performance: Will McDonald IV, coming off a four-sack game, was held to no sacks and one quarterback pressure. He was dealing with a quad injury from last week.
Stat to know: Once again, the Jets failed to intercept a pass. That makes 10 straight games without an interception, and that ties the longest such streak in NFL history. The last team not to intercept an opponent’s pass in its first 10 games of a season was the 2017 Raiders. — Rich Cimini
Next game: at Baltimore Ravens (1 p.m. ET, Nov. 23)
Sports
Ex-NFL star mum on possibility of Trump’s name on Commanders’ new stadium, but excited for team’s return to DC
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The Washington Commanders will be returning to the site of RFK Stadium, where Joe Theismann became a household name.
It’s where the former NFL quarterback threw both his first and final NFL passes. After moving out of the nation’s capital to Landover, Maryland, in 1997, the Commanders are expected to return home in 2030.
“There’s an old saying, you can’t go home again. The Commanders are proving that you can,” Theismann told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
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Joe Theismann, former professional football player, reacts on the sidelines before the game between the Washington Commanders and the Arizona Cardinals at FedEx Field. (Tommy Gilligan/USA TODAY Sports)
President Donald Trump reportedly wants his name attached to the upcoming stadium. While the White House would not confirm such reports, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it would be a “beautiful name, as it was President Trump who made the rebuilding of the new stadium possible.”
Trump, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and team owner Josh Harris were in the Oval Office when the deal for the RFK Stadium site was announced. But Trump sparked controversy when he threatened to halt the team’s plans to build a new stadium in the nation’s capital if it didn’t bring back its old Redskins moniker.
When asked about the possibility of Trump’s name being on the stadium, Theismann did not offer much.

(Left) A general view of fireworks as the American flag is unfurled on the field before an NFL game between the Washington Commanders and the Seattle Seahawks at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, on Nov. 2, 2025. (Right) President Donald Trump speaks during an event about drug prices in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, District of Columbia, on Nov. 6, 2025. (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images;Evan Vucci/AP Photo)
“President Trump is our president. Whatever happens going forward is between the ownership of the Commanders and the president, and it’s going to be what it’s going to be,” he said.
No matter what the stadium is named, Theismann sees the move as generations of Washington fans — past, present and future — all coming together.
“It’s exciting. Josh being a guy who grew up as a fan of the Redskins at that time — a lot of ownership is that way — it’s exciting for them to get back home, too,” Theismann said. “I think those people who were fans of the Redskins and watched us play at RFK Stadium are also fans of the Commanders, and it’ll be nostalgic for them. It’ll be nostalgic for the fans to go back to a stadium that’s going to be there — back where that site was once before, where a lot of their childhood memories were so special.”

Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann (7) in action against the Miami Dolphins at RFK Stadium. (Malcolm Emmons/USA TODAY Sports)
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The domed stadium will cost an estimated $3.7 billion.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Sports
Eze hails impact of Tuchel, Arteta on his game
LONDON — Eberechi Eze likened Thomas Tuchel and Mikel Arteta’s intensity levels and has hailed the impact they have had on his game.
The Arsenal forward came off the bench on Thursday to add gloss to England‘s win over Serbia with a sumptuous finish from just inside the box. It was Eze’s third goal for his country, and the second game in succession that he has scored in.
He has been a part of every England squad since Tuchel’s reign began in January and since his move to Arsenal in the summer, has become an influential member of Arteta’s side.
“Personally, I’ll just say the level of intensity of form and being steps ahead in the game, understanding the game differently,” Eze said, when asked what his two managers have added to his game.
“I feel that’s been to see things better and more clear … of course they’re going to make me a better player [from] the way I think, from way I operate.
“Both very intense, both very aware of the details, which is one of the most important things. It helps me.”
Given the depth of England’s squad, Eze has largely found himself restricted to a role from the bench. The competition for places is something he has come to embrace, and said his mentality doesn’t differ wheter he is a substitute or a starter.
“It’s honestly the same. [If] you’ve got a window of 30 minutes, you take it, it’s 90 minutes you take it. That’s my job. That’s my role. I want to come in and be as effective as I can and help the team to be be better,” he said.
When asked if he views his goal against Serbia as his big England moment, he said: “Not really. I feel like I’m just doing what I can every game. Whenever I get opportunity to score, to assist, to create. That’s what I’m trying to do and [am] enjoying that.
The competition for places is most intense in the middle of the pitch, with Morgan Rogers and Jude Bellingham battling for the No. 10 role. Despite his superstar status at Real Madrid, Bellingham was left on the bench against Serbia with Rogers getting the nod in the starting lineup.
The former Borussia Dortmund midfielder came on near the hour mark for a lively cameo, and played a role in Eze’s goal late on.
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– England offer glimpse of attack without Kane vs. Serbia
“You’ve got the depth of us as a team … England, at the moment, you’ve got to be playing well and Jude has been playing well for his club and it’s his first camp back since the summer and he has come on tonight and made a massive impact,” goalkeeper Jordan Pickford said.
“But I think we got credit of Morgan, I think the last few games he has stepped up. I think the manager put the trust in him even though got someone like Jude as well, Phil [Foden] on the bench.
“We’ve got a lot of options and it’s about being Team England, sticking together, having that togetherness which we’ve got and keep moving together.”
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